Super Smash Bros: How it Happened
by Zelda gamer 137
Summary: Hyrule, Skyworld, Ylisse, Altea. All the kingdom are finally at peace. Or... Are they? When a dark force appears, all the heroes of the kingdom begin disappearing and reappearing in a mysterious mansion where a strange young man named Hans began ordering them around. Everything seemed fine, although a bit odd. Until they were ordered to participate in the brutal, bloody brawls...
1. Disappearances

**A/N: Hi everyone! This is the first story I've ever put on but about the fifth time I've rewritten this story. My brother bought the new Smash Bros game a few weeks ago and I LOVE all the new characters. I am going to warn you all though, I did take out a lot of characters and I added a few. Sorry to all of you that don't like Fire Emblem because I added a lot of them. Lol. Anyway, here's the story, hope you like! 3 ;)**

Fire Emblem

Ike's POV

I was not having a good day. Or to be more specific, I was not having a good WEEK. And to make matters worse, Mist was almost avoiding me and Soren was as upset as he could get.

"These occurrences surely cannot be accidents." he muttered to me.

"Yes, Soren. For the fifth time today, I figured that out for myself!" Soren barely flinched when I yelled in his face.

"I was only repeating myself because I wasn't sure if the details were actually reaching your brain."

I turned away angrily, but the tactician kept talking. "Don't you understand? These attempts on your life aren't coincidental. Someone is trying to kill you."

"Everyone's trying to kill me, Soren, but thank you for your input."

"Ike!" shouted a sweet voice. Mist, my younger sister ran up to me and grabbed my arm.

"Mist! I thought you were actively avoiding me."

"You can take off the "actively". You have to come with me. Quickly." Her eyes were filled with terror.

"Mist? What's wrong? Did someone get hurt?"

I thought about the men back at camp. Boyd almost got himself killed trying to save me the other day. I couldn't let that happen again.

Mist shook her head. "No no. It's not that." she replied, breathlessly, "You have to come quick!" She seized my hand and started dragging me toward the forest. Soren followed.

"It's just back here," Mist called, running faster and faster.

"Slow down." I said, struggling to keep up. She didn't acknowledge me.

The ground started shaking.

"It's here!" Mist yelled.

"Mist! Get back here!" I shouted.

She scrambled toward me, but tripped over a log. I ran to her and the ground spilt open. The healer girl screamed and pulled herself back to me on her hands, while wind from the black hole whipped her hair around.

"Stay back Soren!" I commanded, then ran to my sister.

Of course he didn't listen. I grabbed the front of his robes. "No Soren! Not you. I don't know what this hole is going to do, but it's certainly not going to be good. I'm not letting something happen to you AND Mist. I am NOT choosing one over the other. Now stay!" With that, I grabbed Soren with my other hand and threw him several feet away.

I tried to ignore his shout of anger and pain and ran to Mist.

She was clinging to the edge of the pit. "Help!" she cried. I grabbed her hand, but even I couldn't pull her up. The pit was sucking her in eagerly. The harder I pulled, the hard IT pulled. Mist's eyes were welling with tears; I was hurting her arm.

I leaned over to grab her waist and completely lost my balance.

"NO!" Soren yelled as the general and his sister tumbled into the abyss.

An invisible force from behind lifted him off the ground and threw him in after them.


	2. The heavens shake

**A/N: Okay. Chapter two. I'm trying to just release one chapter a week, but I got a little too excited to wait. Once I'm done with the intro chapters, I might go a little slower. Sorry. I'll try, but I'll probably fail. And sorry to all you big video game people who've played Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem and the like. Sorry if a few characters seem OOC to you. I love the games, but I've never actually played any of them. I want to, but I haven't. So without further ado, here's chapter two! (I made a rhyme! :D)**

Kid Icarus

Pit's POV

I was enjoying a nice hot spring. I had just discovered it and was relaxing to the max. I let myself drift through the hot water for what seemed like hours; there was really nothing for me to do.

I heard a small splash to my left and slowly opened my eyes. I was met by a large pair of red eyes that said, "Boo."

I screamed and half took off before landing face first back in the water.

Pittoo was laughing his head off.

"It's not funny, Pittoo!" I sputtered.

The dark angel took off into the air. "It is if you're not the victim!" he replied, between gasps of breath.

I took Palutena's bow from behind my back and spun it threateningly.

Pittoo raised his eyebrows and took out his. "Oh so that's how you want to play, is it?" He dove down to me and attacked.

I managed to sidestep him and throw him against a rock. Pittoo picked up a small boulder and launched it at me.

The dark angel laughed as I slowly got back up.

Before he knew it, he was slammed against a boulder with one of my daggers against his neck.

"Boys!" shouted a voice from afar. Palutena landed gently on the ground in front of them, shaking a finger.

We both dropped our weapons, pointed at each other, and said, "He started it!"

The goddess only shook her head. "I've been looking for you two. I have to tell you something." "What is it?" Pittoo asked. I noticed the worry in her eyes. "Lady Palutena, is everything alright?" She struggled for words. "Well, you see... It's-"

The ground began shaking violently, cutting her off.

"Woah, earthquake!" I yelled, before falling back into the hot spring.

"Boys," Palutena yelled, "Run!"

The ground spilt in half, opening into a black chasm. I ran to Palutena, trying to pull her away. The chasm was opening faster than we could run.

"Where's Pittoo?" Palutena shouted over the rumbling. Just as she asked, the dark angel ran into us. Hard.

We tumbled over, straight into the hole.

He laughed to himself, but not for long. I used my last burst of energy to try to fly out. I scrabbled at the edge of the chasm and, unable to pull myself out, grabbed onto Pittoo's tunic, yanking him down with us.

As soon as Pittoo's fingers passed through, the hole snapped shut behind us.

** A/N: Phew! So what's happening to the people? Read on peoples! If there even are any peoples that like this story. Oh and sorry about the shortness of the chaps. They'll get longer soon. I promise! Bye bye now!**


	3. Suspicious avoidences

**A/N: Hello! Okay for some reason, Fanfic stopped messing with my tablet so I'm going to start updating again, just not very often. Sorry. But I'm back now! HELLO! Anyway, on to chapter three. This one is about Fire Emblem: Awakening and it was so long, I had to split it in half. Don't ask. My tablet hates me. And I wanted both Robins in this story so I just named the male Avatar, Daraen and made the two siblings. Yes it's weird, I know. I wrote it. Also Chrom and Robin are married.**

Chapter 3

Lucina's POV

The atmosphere surrounding the Shepards today was strange. Some avoided my gaze, and others were tense and silent.

The only two that it didn't seem affected by it were Henry and Inigo, but you could never REALLY tell with Henry and I actively avoided Inigo. Of course I also avoided Henry. And today I was avoiding everyone. Which may have been why they were avoiding me.

Except for my father, Chrom; he'd actually been following me. Not talking to me, not walking next to me. More like stalking me and it was starting to creep me out. I looked back at him and he pretended to be checking the weapons.

I rolled my eyes. He above all people should not be goofing off.

I walked by Inigo, who flashed me a quick smile. I ignored him. "Wait, Lucina!" He grabbed my arm then quickly released it. "There's something I have to show you." he said.

"I am not interested, Inigo."

"You will be." he insisted, "Chrom asked me to show you. It really is fascinating. I won't waste your time."

"You already are wasting my time, Inigo. If my father wanted to show me something, why would he not show me himself?"

"Um...er." Inigo thought about it for a while.

I started to walk away.

"Wait! Please, Lucina!" He grabbed my arm again. For a moment, terror flashed through his eyes. Then the look was gone and he released my arm.

"It's very very important. I don't know why Chrom didn't show you and I don't know why he's been following you, all I know is that I really need to show you."

I hesitated.

"I wouldn't lie to you."

I nodded. "That is true. Alright, what is it, Inigo?"

He started to speak, but Robin and Daraen ran up and interrupted. "Lucina," Daraen said, "Do you have a moment?"

"Not really." I replied, "But you are welcome to talk as we walk."

Inigo turned sharply and practically ran to the edge of camp. The tacticians looked confused, but hurried to keep up.

"What is the matter, mother?"

Robin's eyes looked wary. "Some of the Shepards have seen fit to "complain" about near death experiences."

"I may be wrong," I said, "but aren't we all having those?"

Daraen chuckled slightly, but quickly regained his composure. "Not quite like that." he said, "They were all extremely vague, but they did specify it was in their tents."

"I'm not one to invade on my soldiers' private lives."

Daraen chuckled again. "Not quite like that either."

"Where's Inigo?" Robin asked. I looked up, but the dancer was nowhere to be seen.

"First he desperately needs to show me something, and now he disappears instantly. What on earth is wrong with that man?"

"I've been asking myself that for a long time." Daraen replied, "But putting that aside, he DESPERATELY needed to show you something? Did he say Chrom wanted to show you?"

"Well... yes. How did you know?"

"He tried the same thing on us," Robin said, "But I brushed him off because I had just spoken with Chrom and he said nothing of the sort."

"Did you two notice the mood amongst the Shepards today?" Daraen asked, "It was sort of stiff and cold."

"I did." I replied, "No one would meet my eyes."

"Nor mine." Robin said.

Her brother looked at the ground, puzzled. "What could possibly be going wrong? I've heard nothing is the matter." he said.

"Except for the near-death experiences." I corrected.

"Right." Realization dawned on his face. "Robin," he said, "you don't think someone's threatening them, do you?"

"And hiding in their tents and they can only give us subtle hints? Unlikely, but not impossible."

I nodded slowly. "Only one way to find out." I said.

Daraen nodded.

I jumped when a hand clamped on my shoulder. It was Chrom. "Father. What are you doing?" I asked.

"What am I doing? What are you doing all the way out here?!" He sounded angry.

"What do you mean? We are not so far from camp." Daraen said.

Chrom ignored him. "It's too dangerous. How am I supposed to keep an eye on you if you wander off?" he demanded, seizing my upper arm.

"What are you talking about? Why is it too dangerous? And WHY," I asked, wrenching my arm away from him, "have you been following me?"

**A/N: Okay, end chapter 3. This is only the first half so sorry about the weirdo cliff hanger. I'll follow up with the second half soon...maybe...I don't know. Someday. Goodbye!**


	4. Things go very very wrong

**A/N: Okey doke. Here's the second part of chapter 3. Or chapter 4, whichever you want to call it. I'm releasing it a little early than I thought I would, mostly because I feel guilty that chapter 5 may take a long time to write. I have no idea what I'm doing to be quite honest. But anyway, here's the end to that weirdo cliffhanger. **

Fire Emblem

Lucina's POV

He hesitated. "Now is not the time."

"Chrom." Robin put a hand on his shoulder.

"Robin. Daraen. What are you three doing out here?" he asked, sounding less angry as he took his wife's hands in his.

"Inigo." Daraen said, "He told us to come. He said YOU wanted to show us something."

Chrom blanched. "I-Inigo?"

"Yes."

He shook his head. "We have to get out of here, now."

"Just tell us what's going on." Robin said.

Chrom shook his head again, firmly. "No. I cannot risk the safety of this army to tell you."

He turned to walk back to camp, holding Robin's hands in his, but I stepped in front of him. "Father, tell us." I commanded.

He dropped Robin's hands. "I am already putting dozens of lives at risk by keeping you both safe. I will NOT-"

"Who's lives are at risk?! Who is putting them at risk?! You must tell us!" I shouted over him.

"I can't tell you! If I tell you, he swore he would kill you!"

I was silent. Robin and Daraen stared wide-eyed at him.

He lowered his head. "He's going to kill all of you." he finished quietly.

The ground beneath our feet shook violently.

Chrom winced. "He's here. It's too late. Run!"

There was a horribly loud ripping sound and the grass a few feet in front of us tore open like a page being ripped in two. Chrom slid in, but managed to grasp the edge.

"Chrom!" Robin screamed. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back up. I grabbed her waist and Daraen grabbed mine, but even our combined strengths could not pull him to safety.

A dark hand grabbed my wrist and threw me away. I gasped in pain as my shoulder slammed against the rocky ground. Daraen grunted and rolled several feet away.

I looked up into a pair of deep red eyes that sneered at me. "Pathetic," it snarled, in a voice that sounded like vibrating metal.

Chrom cried out in panic as he slipped further in with Robin still trying to pull him up. The shadowy figure laughed at her fruitless attempts.

With a final yell, Chrom slipped from her fingers and fell into the hole, causing the shadow to laugh harder.

Robin's face was the picture of fury. She leapt toward the figure, but he easily sidestepped her. She unleashed fire and lightening on him, but he disappeared.

There was a moment of breathless terror. No one moved. There was no sound but the pit swirling and sucking us in.

The shadow reappeared with a 'crack' next to Robin and shoved her forcefully into the hole.

"No!" I screamed. I drew my sword. "For my father." I said, charging at the figure.

He turned, quicker than I thought was possible, and delivered a swift punch to my face. I stumbled back and hit the ground, feeling my shoulder throb again.

He chucked as I pushed myself back to my feet and charged again. I dodged his punches and sliced at his face and chest.

Eventually, I caught the side of his face. He drew a dagger from his belt and pushed it into my stomach, gasping slightly in pain.

I collapsed to the ground.

He wiped the side of his face, growling at the sight of the purple tinged blood on his fingers.

"Daraen," I groaned, pulling the knife from my stomach. He was lying unconscious on the ground several feet away.

The shadow grabbed my throat and pulled me up off the ground. "You'll pay for that," he snarled.

My vision was blurring and darkening. He threw me down into the pit and I fell unconscious.

**A/N: Okay. Now I really really promise that the chapter will get much much longer after this. Pinky pwomise. XD. Love anyone who's lived through reading this awful stuff. Keep reading and I'll continue writing.**


	5. Confusion breaks out

**A/N: Okay here's chapter 5. Thank goodness that didn't take too long. I think I'm only a day late. Right?... Okay. Read, follow, and review please!**

Chapter 5

Link's POV

Where was I? There was a static sound in my ears. Then, very faintly, "Hello? Wake up time! Up and at 'em!" I opened my eyes and was met by a pair of bright blue ones. I gasped and instinctively rolled to the side. 'Whump' I hit solid ground. "Ow." "Careful there, sunshine." I looked back at the bright eyes.

They belonged to a young boy with a round face and silvery-white hair. He wore a baggy black shirt and light blue pants. "Who are you?" I asked, as he pulled me to my feet with surprising strength. When I stood, he came to my shoulder. "I'm your host. Welcome to the Smash Mansion!" He spread out his arms, gesturing to the room I was in.

I looked around, alarmed. The room was pure white, with wooden dressers and wooden beds. A full length mirror hung on the opposite wall. Two beds sat on the other side of the room, occupied.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"The teleport can cause a bit of memory loss." the boy explained, "But no worries. I'll remind you of the more important things, but first I need you to complete the following sentences." I nodded, vaguely. "Yeah. Alright."

I'd do anything to make him tell me where I was and what I was doing here.

"Okay. Your name is..." "Link." I answered quickly. "Good. Nice to meet you, Link. You are from..." He took some sort of pad from behind his back and began to scribble on it. "Hyrule." "Excellent. How old are you?" "Seventeen." "Height? Weight?" "I- I don't know. Why do I have to answer all these questions?"

He sighed. "I'm putting you in system. I need all of your information. As well as theirs." He pointed across the room at the other two beds. The sheets were covering one of the men, but I could see blonde hair peeking out. In the other bed, a man with spiky blue hair laid eagle spread, muttering quietly in his sleep. He rolled suddenly to the side, but instead of slamming into the ground, like I had, he caught himself on his hands and knees and stood up. He looked between the two of us with piercing blue eyes.

"Where am I?" he asked. "The teleporter can scramble some memories. I'll have an announcement later to remind all of you where you are and why you're here, but first I need you to answer some questions." "No." the man said, firmly.

The silver-haired boy looked confused. "No?" "I'm not answering any of your damn questions until you tell me where I am. Did you kidnap me?" "No," said the boy, exasperated, "You chose to come. All of you. You signed a contract and everything." "I signed a what?" "**You. Wanted. To. Come.**" he enunciated. "I don't remember wanting to go anywhere." "No, I can't imagine anyone here does. But you should get your memories back in a few days. In the meantime, I will tell all about what happened. But first I need to search for you in the log." "The log?"

The man turned to me in confusion. I shrugged. "I got the same treatment, pal. I'm just going with it." He nodded slowly. "Alright. What do you need to know?" "Good. What's your name?" "Ike."

The boy hummed, looking across his pad. "Ah! Isaac." "I go by Ike." he said. "Noted. How old are you?" "Eighteen." "Where are you from, Ike?" "Crimea. In Tellius." "Oh, Tellius. Beautiful place isn't it? Lovely." Ike half-nodded. "Usually, yeah. I want to travel though." "Ha! No wonder you came here. There are some wonderful sights here. It's incredible, really it is."

Ike nodded slowly, clearly not able to swallow everything the boy was saying to him. "Right…..Where is here?" The boy lowered the pad. "I can weigh and measure you all later." he muttered. He raised his eyes back to Ike's face. "This place is called the Smash Mansion. It's a lovely place where you will stay over the next seven months." "Seven?!" I exclaimed.

The boy turned back to me. "Oh you can leave early if you want. But I can guarantee, no one's gonna wanna go home early. You'll miss a lot of the fun." The male in the third bed groaned and turned over. "Gah!" he yelled, scrambling to his feet. His hair was messy blonde and his eyes were electric blue. He panted. "Who are you?" he asked. I noticed an accent in his voice that I'd never heard before.

The silver-haired boy relayed to the third man what he had told me and Ike. I studied Ike's clothing, and then my own. We were all wearing plain white shirts and pants.

The third man, whose name was Shulk, sighed heavily when the boy finished talking.

"Alright." the boy said, "Now that that's done. Welcome to the Smash Mansion. You three will be occupying Room 1 for the next seven months. Let's see if I've got this down." He pointed to each of us in turn, checking his pad as he went. "Link, Ike, and Shulk. Good. My name is Hans. Sorry I didn't mention that before. Slipped my mind. Ready to explore the rest of the mansion, room 1?"

Shulk and Ike shrugged. "Sure." I said. "Excellent." Hans said, swinging open the door. For someone who spoke like he did, Hans couldn't have been more than fourteen years old.

I stepped out the door. We were on a pure white balcony, overlooking a wide hall. Around us on the balcony were more doors, most likely leading to other bedrooms.

"Wow." Shulk whistled. "Nice, isn't it?" Hans grinned, proudly.

The doors around us opened. Dozens of people spilled onto the balcony. My sharp eyes scanned the crowd, but Hans ushered me on before I spotted anyone I knew. The crowd flooded down the steps to the lower floor, guided by god knows who. I jostled and was jostled as the crowd bumped around.

Everything was perfectly plain. Seats lined the walls, but nothing hung on the white walls. Doors sat along the walls, and through one of them the smell of food wafted to us. My stomach grumbled, but we moved on and soon the smell was gone.

Hans' voice rung from the front of the group, "Come on everyone! Pick up the pace!" I trod on someone's foot, trying to see him. "Hey. Watch it." snapped another bluenette in a white cape. "Sorry." He moved away.

"In here!" called Hans. The crowd squeezed through a doorway. I gasped in awe when I got into the room, as did almost everyone else in the group. The ceilings were fifty feet in the air, weapons, ranging from bows to swords to axes to guns, hung from all walls and on small stands. A large stage was slightly raised in the middle of the room.

"Do not grab any weapons." Hans said in a warning voice, "No matter how tempted you are, no weapons. Not yet." He leapt up on the stage and several people surrounded him. "These people," he said, "are your trainers. Yes, you are allowed to beat them senseless. They're robots, no matter how realistic, so you can take out your frustrations on them. Whenever you're training, which will be most of the time, you can come in here."

"What are we training for?" called a pretty girl in a pink dress.

"I was just getting to that. Now, most of you will not remember doing so, but you all volunteered for this. Each for your own reasons I'm sure. I came to you each individually and offered to let you stay here for seven months. The Smash Mansion is an exclusive hotel of sorts. For seven months, you sleep here, you eat here, and you basically live here. The main event is brawling, though. You train in this room and once a day we will have a group brawl. Four people will stand on a stage and fight each other with their weapon of choice."

I looked around the crowd. No one looked very convinced.

"Do you have any sort of proof that we agreed to this?" shouted a tall, blonde girl.

Hans turned his bright blue, almost white, eyes down on her. "Of course I do. You're acting like I have a death wish or something. Inviting a bunch a deadly people into a mansion, sending them through something that would more than likely make them forget what happened, and not have a signed document proving that they agreed to it. That's crazy talk."

The girl stared at him, dumbfounded.

"The log's outside the dining hall. Has all of your signatures and fingerprints in it. You can check it out in a minute." He looked down at a band across his wrist. "It's almost dinnertime. There are maps strategically spread around the mansion. If you're having serious problems maneuvering around the place, or if you are injured doing something stupid, come look for me. My name is Hans. There are meetings in this room every morning and evening unless I tell you otherwise. Any questions?"

The bluenette whose toes I stepped on earlier raised his hand.

"Yes? Chrom is it?" The man nodded. "Who's in charge around here?" Hans looked slightly offended. "I am." he said, "Any **other** questions?"

No one answered.

"Alright then. If you'll follow me, I'll take you down to the dining area for dinner." He went to get down, then turned us again whispering, "You all are going to love it here." He skipped out the doors again and we followed. We went back down the white halls, following the little silver head.

An arm grabbed mine. I jerked away, before noticing the reddish brown eyes.

"Sheik!" I said. "Hey there, runaway." she said, "Good to see you again." "Good to see you," I replied, "Where have you been? And have you seen Zelda?" I was anxious of the whereabouts of the princess. Sheik's eyes were smiling. "Zelda's fine. I was just talking with her." "Are you two in the same room?" I asked. "No." she answered, "We're in separate rooms, but I've met her roommates. They're pretty nice." I sighed. "No worries, Link. I'll take care of her. You know I will." "Yeah, I do."

We entered the dining room. The walls were white, but they had windows. The tables were metal and glass and small chandeliers hung from the ceiling. I sat by a window and Sheik mumbled goodbye.

"Fish dinner I think tonight." said Hans. "Huh?" I looked up. He was leaned against a food bar, talking to an incredibly pale woman. A robot.

He turned back to me. "Oh hello, Link." he said, "Ready for dinner?" I nodded, then looked back out the window. "Already homesick?" I shook my head. "No. I just feel strange." "Teleport probably. Here, have some fish." He put a platter of grilled salmon in front of me. I picked up a fork. "Thanks." I said. "No prob." He took his own platter and moved away.

I sat in silence. A hand tapped my shoulder. It was Ike. "Mind if I join you?" he asked. I shook my head.

**A/N: That's better, right? They may get a bit long later on, but for now I have to stop writing or my eyeballs will fall out. I'll have a chapter ready for you all next week! Goodbye! 3**


	6. Hatred takes roots

A/N: Hey everyone! How's it going? *listens to your problems* We'll I can't actually listen to your problems as we all know, but I hope your all doing well. If not then I hope you get better. This is my longest chapter yet (hurray for me!) and hopefully the rest will stay this long. I know I'm updating early, but I felt bad for updating my side story so quickly and forgetting this one. So I spent all day writing this chapter. I hope it's good! Please read and ! (Note: This is still the same night from the last chapter)

Chapter 6

Dark Pit's POV

"Enjoy." said a robot in a flat voice as she offered me my food. I snatched away my tray. "Aw, shut up." Her expression did not change.

I sulked off to a corner table, away from everyone else; I did not want to be bothered.

"Hey Pittoo!" called Pit from a crowded table.

I ignored him and continued to the empty table. Everyone was so happy-go-lucky here. Didn't they realize what had happened? We had been kidnapped! I remembered it all clearly. Me, Pit, and Palutena had been sucked into a swirling vortex. Well... I HAD pushed them in, but that was beyond the point.

My wings ruffled stiffly. My eyes flashed over the room. I saw dozens of people, I saw Pit and Palutena, but no one else I recognized.

A plate fell with a 'snap' onto my private table. I flinched. "This seat taken?" Hans asked as he sat down.

"It is now." I mumbled.

The boy shoveled food into his mouth like it was a race. I grimaced. Who did this kid think he was? He had clearly claimed to be 'the boss', but how old was he? Not old enough to own a mansion for sure.

He swallowed a huge mouth full. "You not hungry?" he asked.

I scoffed. "I sort of lost my appetite with the whole kidnapping thing."

Hans dropped his fork. "What?" "The kidnapp-" Hans started laughing. "What's so funny?" I snapped. "Dude," he said, between snickers, "Your head must be so scrambled right now. Don't worry about it."

He continued his meal. What was wrong with this kid? He must've been insane! There was no way I was staying locked up in a mansion with a crazy guy. Or...several crazy people.

Hans cleared his plate seconds later and stood up. "Once you're finished, head back to the training room for the first night meeting. When everyone's arrived, I will lay out the ground rules." He clapped his hands together. "See ya there!" He skipped put the room and back down the hall.

I, begrudgingly, returned to my meal.

A small hand tapped my shoulder. "Excuse me." said a voice as small as the hand.

I scooted back my chair to get a look at her face. It was round with big blue eyes and short red hair.

"Hi. I was just wondering if- Oh!" As she spoke, she stepped towards me and tripped over an uneven tile. She flung out her hand as she fell and knocked my plate of food into my lap along with her face.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and stood up quickly. My tunic and her face were both covered in sauce and fish.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, her eyes full of embarrassment.

I released her shoulders and glared down at her. "What could've been so important that you had to ruin my clothes to ask me?"

The hurt in her eyes sent a pang through my chest; I ignored it. "What do you need?" I growled, feeling the sauce soak through to my chest.

"I said I was sorry!" she exclaimed.

"You ain't worth my time." I pushed past her and headed out the door.

My black sandals clomped across the bright white flooring. Why did everything have to be white? It was enough to make someone blind. Maybe that's why Hans' eyes were so light blue.

I hunched my shoulders. I needed to leave, but for some reasons, I kept going down the hall towards the training room.

An arm flung around my shoulders. I shouted in surprise, but it was only Pit. "Hey Pittoo. How ya doing?"

I threw his arm off. "That's not my name." I said.

"You okay?" he asked again. "I'm fine." I snapped, "Now go away. Go play with your new friends." "They're not really my friends. I only just met them." "Really? Usually that's enough for you to call them 'besties'."

Pit's wings fluttered slightly. "That's not funny."

"No. It's not. That wasn't it's purpose." I said, quickening my pace.

I threw open the door to the training room and slammed it behind myself.

Hans turned suddenly, alarmed, but calmed down when he saw me. "Oh hello."

A handful of people were already seated on the ground in front of the stage.

I stepped out of the way of the door when it opened. Several more people flooded in and crowded around the stage, urging everyone else to stand up.

"So what now?" I asked, "You gonna sing a little bit? Maybe do some interpretive dancing?"

Despite the fact that I was clearly talking to him, Hans didn't turn his head. He whipped out a clipboard and flipped through the notes on it. He muttered something to himself and started counting everyone in the room.

"Okay good. You're all here." he said, "Which means. It's time to get started."

I grunted in annoyance as the crowd shuffled up.

Calm down everyone. It's not like he's actually going to dance or sing.

"That's right. Everyone gather up close. Now. Right now I'm going lay down the ground rules. Wake up schedules, meal times, training times, meeting times, the layout of the mansion, all that stuff.

"Rule 1, property damages will result in...bad stuff. Not good stuff, don't do it or I will have to reveal to you what happens in explicit detail.

"During training times, you will not fight with one another. I know this sounds strange to most of you, as you are probably USED to training with each other. But that's not how things work here. That's what these training robots are for and that's one of the reasons I'm here.

"We have the recreational room back there." He pointed to a door at the back of the room. "That makes an illusion room of any environment that you want to train in. Just don't get distracted in there or things could go a bit haywire.

"One of the most important rules is, do not bring anyone extra into your bedrooms."

Most everyone chucked, Hans with them. He quickly contained it though.

"I'm serious." he said, "Each and every one of you has at least one roommate."

"'Cept me. Right, boss?" I shouted.

Hans looked down at me, then at his clipboard. "No, Tip. Your roommate will arrive later. He's not in right now."

"Wha? My name's not Tip!"

"It isn't?" He looked confused. "Well it is now. Dark Pit takes too long to say and Pittoo makes you sound useless."

I was confused. When I woke up earlier, there were no extra beds. Just mine. And where was my roommate? Did he get lost?

Hans continued, "Anyway. Your roommates will notice if something is a bit...off. No extra people.

"On a lighter note, we are gonna have a lot of fun these first two months. Unfortunately, the brawls don't start immediately. As I said, for the first two months we're just going to have a great time. Feasts, parties, games, and at the end a great big dance!" Hans looked like the happiest boy in the world.

I groaned inwardly.

"Breakfast starts at seven o'clock and ends at ten. Lunch starts strictly at twelve and ends at one thirty. And dinner is from five thirty to eight.

"Wake up calls are not strictly enforced until the two months are up.

"It's up to everyone to remember their own assigned rooms. If you have any difficulties with that, you can come talk to me. I promise I'll be nice. When you go to your rooms tonight, you will find keys for each of you to your rooms. Keep these keys on you at all times, do not lose them. I can replace lost or broken keys, but stolen keys are YOUR responsibility. I cannot replace stolen keys.

"If you have any issues, make sure you immediately come to me. Don't talk to the bots, they're not programed to answer questions. Now. Speaking of questions, do any of you have any?"

"Where's that log you claimed was by the dining hall?" asked the tall blonde woman, "I looked everywhere and I didn't see any sort of log."

"Ah yes. Unfortunately we had to take down the log for now, but it'll be back up in the morning along with the list of the day's events and a map. Very handy. Anymore questions?"

The girl that tripped into my lap earlier raised her hand.

"Yes...Mist." said Hans, "What's happened to your face?"

"I spilled some food." she replied, "Where can I clean myself up?"

Hans clicked his tongue. "I'm afraid the damage is permanent, love."

"Erm...huh?"

He chuckled to himself. "I'm only joking. Come with me." He hopped down from the stage and took her arm.

"The rest of you head up to your bedrooms and get settled in. Night clothes are in the assigned dressers for each person. If you have complaints or comments, I'll be here."

He guided Mist through a side door and everyone else shuffled through the doorway, back upstairs.

I squeezed backwards through the crowd and let them flow past me. After a few minutes, I was alone. Finally.

I looked down at my soiled clothing and scowled again. If that girl had watched where she was going, we wouldn't be in this mess. And more importantly, I wouldn't have filthy clothes.

I hopped up on the stage and stared down one of the bots. "What are look'in at?"

I punched it in the face. Surprisingly, it's skin gave way like human skin. Not like the metal I expected. The robot stumbled back.

"Training mood activated." it said in its robotic voice. It's hands formed into fists and it took a defensive stance.

"Hey!" The robot lowered it's fists and backed away.

Hans had an arm around Mist's shoulders and was leading her out of the room. He had a remote in his hands. "What are you doing?" he asked.

I threw up my hands. "You said they were training robots and that we could beat them up whenever we wanted to." I replied.

He slipped the remote back into his pocket, looking angry. "It's after training hours now, Tip. Time for bed. Shoo." He released Mist and gestured to the door.

She walked to the door, shooting a look at me. It wasn't an angry look, but the look of someone who didn't like me very much.

Hans turned back to me, his old smile sliding back onto his face. "If you don't watch yourself, Tip, you're going to end up in a lot of trouble."

I stepped off the stage and marched over to him. "Who are you? You look about fourteen, but you act a hell of a lot older."

"My age is none of your business."

"Oh yeah? You two sure were in that bathroom a while. Were we doing a bit more than cleaning up? Hm?"

"What I do is also none of your concern. I'd watch my tongue if I were you." "Yeah? What're you gonna do if I don't? Step on my toes? At your height that's all you're capable of."

He smirked calmly into my cold red eyes. Then he lifted his foot and stamped with all of his weight on my right foot.

"Gah!" I held my throbbing foot, wincing.

"I'm sorry. Was that sarcastic?"

I snarled at his smirking face. If he didn't have an army of robots that listened to his every whim, I would've murdered him then and there. But he did.

"Bed time for kiddos." he said.

"Yeah, you'd better head up." I growled, limping out the door. I shot one last glare at his smirk before the door shut behind me.

I really hated that kid.

A/N: Haha! Sorry. I crack myself up. *contains laughter* I will be releasing one chapter every weekend. Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, depending on whether I'm late, early or right on time. See you guys next week in chapter 7, Sheik realizes that the hottest guys are British. Lol, joking. That's not the real chapter title I promise. Read and 3 plz!


	7. Making friends

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the SUPER late update. I wasn't doing too good this past weekend so I never got around to writing the new chapter. And then she lost it so I had to rewrite it. Yes. I LOST the chapter. I don't know how. But it's here now, so yay! Hope you enjoy. :) Read, favorite, and review. Thank you all for your support. Note 1: This is the morning following the previous chapter. Note 2: "..." means time break. But you probably knew that. Sorry. Read on.

Chapter 7

Zelda's POV

My eyes slowly fluttered open. "Good morning." called a musical voice. Peach was already up and making her bed.

I smiled and sat up. "Good morning." I replied. I slid my legs over the side of the bed and yawned.

The blonde girl made her way over to me. "I don't think we've been PROPERLY introduced. I am Peach, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom." She curtsied in her nightgown.

I tried not to giggle at the name. A kingdom was a kingdom, no matter how funny the name...but it was funny. "I am Zelda," I said, returning the curtsy, "princess of Hyrule."

She put a hand in front of her mouth, giggling quietly. Then she quickly stopped. "Oh. Best not be too loud." She pointed to the third occupied bed in the small white room. "My friend Daisy is a late sleeper."

I smiled at the rising and falling chest. "Of course. I'll try to be quiet. What time is it?"

Peach frowned. "I'm not sure. I think it's rather late though, so we may have to hurry for breakfast."

My stomach grumbled. I groaned in embarrassment. Peach laughed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. These sorts of things stay between princesses."

"Thanks."

"Oh. And Hans said this dresser is mine, that one is Daisy's, and that one's yours." She pointed out each of the dressers.

I ran a hand over the smooth wooden surface. "These are a bit plain, don't you think."

"I've been thinking that about everything since minute one. I planned on asking Hans for a bit of color at least."

"Good idea." I pulled open the top drawer. "Erm... Peach? What do you suppose this is?" I took out a small, silky piece of purple cloth. It was far too short to be a skirt or a dress.

She tilted her head. "I think it's a blouse. It'd look nice on you."

"Ha! With what? Men's trousers?"

"No." She opened a closet door and took out a short gray skirt. "With this."

I looked at it quizzically, then back down at the blouse.

...

I walked down the marble stairs, admiring the ceiling decorations. They were big silver and clear balls hanging just to the side of the stairs. A big circle cut into the ceiling showed the ground floor to anyone upstairs. A lovely balcony to look down from.

I pulled up my gray skirt. "I think this is a bit too big on me." I said.

"Nonsense," Peach replied, "It's supposed to hang loosely."

"Easy for you to say."

She was wearing a white pencil skirt and a pink blouse.

We reached the hallway.

"They're different styles, Zelda. Yours is loose, mine is tight." "That's MY point."

I swung open the doors to the dining area. It was empty. We walked over to a table at the middle of the room.

"This is what I mean though." Peach said, "It's so plain in here I may suffocate before the first month is over."

"Good morning, ladies." called a voice from the food bar. Hans had a frying pan in his hand and an apron around his neck. "How are we this morning?" he asked.

"Very well, thank you Hans." I noticed something different about him. A bright smile was spread across his face, but there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Would you two care for some breakfast?" he asked, stirring something in a large metal bowl.

"Oo, yes please." said Peach.

His smile extended even further. With one hand he poured a thick liquid into his pan and with the other he pressed a few buttons in the food bar.

Huge flames sprouted up around the silver haired cook. Peach and I screamed, but the flames disappeared just as quickly as they came.

Hans was laughing. I put a hand over my heart.

"Haha. Ohhhh... My apologies princesses. But the opportunity was too good to pass up. No worries though. I am completely flame resistant."

Peach drew in her hands. "Erm..."

Hans thought about it. "Okay, let's go with MOSTLY flame resistant." He turned the fire back on and put down the pan. He took off his apron, pulled out a chair, and sat by us. "So... What do you think of the mansion?"

"It's rather colorless." Peach said.

Hans' face visibly fell. "Really?" The smile jumped instantly back onto his face. "Alright then. How about you and me go color shopping later today?"

Peach's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't think that's a thing, but sure!"

I crinkled my nose. There was a terrible smell in the air. "Erm, Hans? What is that?"

His silver head bobbed up. "Hm?" He took a whiff and choked. "Oh god. I'm burning breakfast!" He leapt several feet across the room and jumped over the bar. He picked up the frying pan and batted out the flames.

I held back a laugh.

With a few quick motions, he skipped back to our table with two plates in his hands. "Alright. Pancakes for breakfast." he announced.

I poked at the pale flabby cake on my plate.

Hans pulled back his sleeve and looked at his leather bracelet. "Well. Gotta run ladies. Meeting's in a few, so eat up. I'll see you two there." He waltzed out of the room.

...

Peach slid her arm into mine. "So. What do you think of this... whole thing?" she asked.

What did I think? I thought a lot of things. "I don't think I've figured it out yet. But it's nice. And a very lovely opportunity. I wouldn't mind dealing with a colorless mansion for a few months if this is what I get in return."

I looked up to the second floor. Link had his arms hanging over the railing. I waved to him to which he replied with a goofy smile. "What do you think of it?" I asked.

"I completely agree with you. I'm so excited, but a little scared of fighting." "Don't worry about it. Hans says he'll 'train us up'."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I mean, what is this place? What is it really?"

I looked around at the plain walls and flooring. "I think it's a chance to have fun. To be tough and to show those guys that we ARE better than they think."

"But what if I'm not?" We stopped. "I like to have little fantasies that I can do all this great stuff and kick butt, but I'll probably just end up failing."

"No," I said, "You won't fail. You can't fail here. You'll just be the most improved."

"Ha! Improve from what? You can't improve if you didn't have the skills in the first place."

We started walking again; I was silent.

"I've made things awkward haven't I?" she asked, "Should I change the subject?"

I nodded.

She grabbed my arm to stop me. "You see here?" She pointed to a wall. "Here we should have a great big mural of sea creatures. And all along this hallway should be leather sofas instead of these rickety old benches. We should have paintings and windows all down here. The decorations above the stairwell looks nice, but it needs some flair. Maybe some pink flowers?"

"Not pink. Boys live here too you know." I reminded her.

"Ah. Right."

I opened the door to the training room, but instead of what I expected, I was met with a dark hallway with soft red carpeting. Small lamps hung from the walls, but they did nothing to lighten the dim hall. At the end of the hall hung a large plaque bearing the letters "M.H."

"Wow." I said, "I guess we went a bit far."

"Hello?"

I jumped back, but it was only Hans. "I'm sorry to disturb you two again, but this hallway is currently off limits."

"I'm sorry," said Peach, "We didn't realize."

"What does 'M.H.' stand for?" I asked, before Hans could usher us out.

Hans sniffed. "'M.H.' is the name of the company that is lending this building to me. They're the initials of the boss."

"I thought you were the boss." I said.

He waved his hand impatiently for us to come out and closed the door behind us. "Yes," he continued, "I AM the boss, but only of this building. There is someone that I work under, but to be fair, I am second in command."

"Who is the boss then?" Peach asked.

"Erm..." He scratched the back of his neck. "He's a rather unpleasant fellow. You wouldn't want to meet him. Listen." He turned back to us. "You wouldn't mind keeping this between the three of us, would you?"

"Of course," I said, "But what's the matter?"

He scratched his neck again. "The boss doesn't like to be talked about." He looked down at his bracelet again. "Oh good grief. I'm going to be late for the tour. Ladies?" He hurried ahead.

...

"If everyone would follow me in a nice orderly fashion. Try not to trample anyone. The only dangerous thing about these stairs is that people climb them."

Peach skipped ahead of me. I sighed and started up the stairs. A leg stuck out in front of me. I gasped, but a hand grabbed my arm before I hit the ground. My eyes met a pair of deep blue ones.

"Sorry," said the bluenette.

I scoffed, pulled up my skirt, and hurried ahead. I'd rather not be surrounded by tall men. It was weird.

An arm slid through mine. "Your majesty."

"Link!"

The sides of his eyes crinkled with a smile. "Hey. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm doing fine. And you?"

He shrugged. "Meh. I'm alright. I've got some strange ones for roommates, but I can't complain."

"Hm. I got a few very pleasant princesses for my roommates."

"Did you now?" His blue eyes twinkled. I smiled.

"Have you seen Sheik?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I spoke with her yesterday," I said, "She seemed worried."

"When is she not?" I laughed. I felt normal again.

The group stopped. "Alright everyone." called Hans, "This, as you know, is the second floor. This floor is entirely bedrooms." He gestured around the circular balcony. "Each of the doors has their specific numbers. As I said yesterday, please remember your room number and don't lose your room key."

"Hey, boss." called a voice, "How come this door doesn't have a number?" He was rapping his knuckles on an unlabeled door.

"That one's mine." said Hans. The little brunette tilted his head. "But I thought you shared a room with me. Me and Daraen."

"Yes, I do." With that, he continued the tour.

The brunette look confused, but had to hurry to keep up with the group as we started to climb a set of metal spiral stairs. As we made our way up the narrow stairs, Link and I were separated.

The little brunette boy struggled his way up to me. "Hi," he said, "I'm Pit. What's your name?" He stumbled slightly and a pair of white wings sprouted from his back.

I gasped and so did everyone around me.

"Woah. Sorry." he said. He pulled them in to let people pass.

I grabbed his arm to make sure he wouldn't fall. "Thanks." he said.

"My name is Zelda." I told him. An embarrassed smile spread across his face.

"I was just wondering if you saw either of my friends."

"Well, what do they look like?"

"Erm... Well, there's Palutena. She's tall with long green hair and green eyes. Then there's Pittoo. He looks a bit like me, but with black hair and red eyes. Have you seen either of them?"

I smiled, sadly. I hadn't really seen anyone today. "No. I'm sorry, Pit. I haven't seen anyone like that. But I'm sure they're around here somewhere."

Someone bumped roughly into my side. I stumbled over, but Pit caught my arm. "Thank you."

"Just returning the favor." he said brightly, then squeezed up through the people.

We reached the top of the staircase. Half of the group had come up a second staircase on the other side of the room. Hans stood in the center of the hall. "Alright everyone." he said, "This is the top floor. Down the hall here we have a smaller training room, mostly for knife throwing and magic wielding people. Through this door down to your left, is a library and down these small steps is a sitting adjacent to the library."

He walked down the hall toward the door to the library, then pointed to a door on the opposite side. "This door leads to a very special room. This leads into the ballroom which we will be using for the ball. Obviously. I'd love to show you around it, but unfortunately it is under serious renovations. Not funny renovations, very very serious ones." When no one laughed, he carried on, popping right back up from his disappointment. "But. I CAN show you all, the library."

He strutted to the other side of the hall and opened the double doors. My heart pounded in my chest.

Bookshelves that reached to the ceilings with old books and new books, dusty books and clean books, beautiful books and more beautiful books. There were ladders and extra levels within the one room and cubby holes for reading and windows seats. Needless to say, I was the first person in the room.

Everyone hesitantly piled in.

I pulled books down, and put some back and examines their covers with extreme enthusiasm. Some were instruction on fighting books, but most were fantasy stories. Soon I was carrying around a sizable stack. If we were going to be relaxing these first two months, I was going to be doing some reading.

A bright purple bookspine caught my eye. I balanced my stack of books in one hand and reached for the purple one, but it was too high for me. I put my stack against the side of my head and reached with both hands, but I was still too short.

"You need some help?" said a voice in my ear.

I screamed slightly and dropped my books.

"Gah. I am so sorry." It was that bluenette again. I scowled. "Here, let me." he said as I went to gather up my books again. He handed them to me a few at a time.

"Thank...you." Maybe he was more of a gentlemen than I thought.

He was wearing the same type of pants as Hans and a white shirt.

Once I was holding all of my books again, he reached up to the shelf and pulled down the purple one that I wanted.

I smiled and shook my head. "You keep it," I said, "Tell me if it's good."

He shook his head in return. "No thank you. I'm not one for reading."

I took it from him and placed it at the top of my stack.

"Here. I'll carry a few of those." Before I could protest, he took half of my portion of books and carried them with me to the sitting room. "I'm Ike by the way." he said as we sat down next to each other.

"Zelda." I replied.

A/N: Okay. HOPEFULLY next chapter will be up soon. It may be a little shorter, but it'll be up. If any of you guys have anyone specific you want to do a POV, leave your suggestions a review and I will see what I can do. Read and review please!


	8. Getting used to things

**A/N: From now on new chapters will be released on Sundays. If a new chapter isn't released that means I'm not done with it yet and it won't be released until NEXT Sunday. **

Chapter 8

Ike's POV

"Come on Chrom! You've got this!"

"No magic allowed. Keep that in mind."

"My hands are right here."

Chrom let the die roll across the board. Two ones. "Woo! Snake eyes!" The Yisseans high fived.

Today Hans had set up a game day for the men and a shopping day for the women. Daraen, Chrom, Link, Shulk, and a few others grouped together at one table and everyone else had spread throughout the room.

The game room was at the end of the main hall, down an adjacent hall and through a right hand door. With high ceilings and dim lights, the vast room looked like a warehouse.

I had turned down the boys' offer of a game; watching was much more fun.

Although the rest of the girls had gone shopping, my sister, Mist, had stayed. She said she was feeling ill and wouldn't mind watching the boys play games.

I sat near enough to keep an eye on her, but far enough so she wouldn't FEEL like I was watching her. It was a strange arrangement, but we were both happy.

"Come on Link! Take him down!" The boys were yelling enthusiastically for their teammates.

The doors to the game doors slammed open. Hans stood in the metal doorway, with a quirky grin spread across his face. "What's up everyone? Cue the music!"

The roar of the room died down but there was no music.

Hans chuckled. "Just kidding. We don't have a sound system in here. We shouldn't, but we don't. I need a theme song." He clapped his hands loudly. "Someone install a sound system, then get to writing my theme song! Anyway, I'm running the snack bar in here, so if anyone wants a beer or some nachos, come to me. I'll be in the back."

I noticed he had a sort of quip where he moved his hands dramatically as he spoke.

He clapped his hands again, then started a cheerful march to the back of the room.

The roar of the people began once more.

I started to turn back to my game, but then noticed that Hans had paused his walk in front of Mist. He tapped her on the shoulder and seemed to ask her how she was doing and if she wanted to join him at the snack bar. She shook her head. He sighed and sat down next to her.

There was a flutter of black wings on my right side. The boy (Tip was it?) scoffed at the two of them. "Hey," he said, "You see anything different about that guy?"

I looked Hans over. "Not really." I replied.

"Look a little closer. His arms and legs. And his hair."

I narrowed my eyes. His arms did look a bit ganglier, and maybe his jeans fit him a little better. His hair was longer too.

I snapped my head back over to Tip. "So the guy's grown. What's the problem? If you're trying to start trouble for Hans, it's not going to work through me. I trust Hans, he's my friend."

The dark angel scoffed again. "Fine. But if I were you, I'd keep a close eye on him. He seems over interested in your little sis." He flew off into the rafters.

Hans tapped Mist on the shoulder and pulled a coin from his hoodie pocket. He did the coin-behind-the-ear trick.

Mist shook her head and turned away.

The silver headed boy rolled the coin between his fingers, faster than I thought was possible. He flicked it into the air and caught it between the fingers of his left hand.

Mist didn't stir.

He curled his right hand into a fist and flicked another coin into the air.

Mist looked at him, then grabbed his hand, turned in over and, seeing no more coins, pushed it back.

Hans grinned and flicked up a third coin.

My sister seized his hand and looked it over more throughly. She separated his fingers, looked in his sleeve, and shook his arm, but no coins fell to the floor.

He was still holding three.

She sat back and watched him carefully.

The boy opened his hand to show a coin between each of his fingers, then grinned revealing several between his teeth.

I turned away, bewildered by his strange magic trick.

Soren was sitting in a nearby chair, flipping through a book. I walked to him. "Hey." I said.

"Hello Ike." Soren replied, turned the pages of his book faster.

"So, what do you think? Of this place? I'm sure you've had enough time to-"

"Well," he interrupted, "the walls appear to be sheet rock, but have a thick inner layer of some sort of metal. Perhaps titanium. Each room emits a strange energy whose source I cannot find. The main doors are-"

"Hold up." I said, "That is NOT what I meant."

He paused and looked up at me. "It's not? But usually in a situation like this, you'd want me to evaluate the area and decide the best means of escape."

"I don't want to escape. I chose to do this. My memory's been coming back."

Soren jumped to his feet. "It has?"

"Yes, I signed a paper, I agreed to this. Look, it's probably still in here somewhere. Hans gave it to me for safekeeping." I pulled a crinkled paper from my pocket and shook it in front of Soren's face. "See? There's my signature, there's yours, and Mist's. We all agreed to this. There's no danger here."

His eyebrows drew together as he pushed back his long black hair to study the paper. "But I-"

A hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. It was Link, one of my roommates. "Hey Ike," he said, "We're starting a new game here before too long. Want to join this time around?"

I hesitated and looked back at Mist. She was gone. Off with Hans to the snack bar no doubt. I turned back to the game table. A few of the people beckoned to me and Shulk nodded.

"Alright," I consented, "But just one game."

"Okay then," he replied with a grin, "Hey guys. I got Ike to join us. I'm gonna run up to the snack bar for some food and drinks. Don't start without me."

I grabbed Link's arm. "Actually, I'll get the snacks. Don't worry yourself."

"Oh...alright. Be quick."

As I turned to walk to the bar, I heard a gradual groan come from the men at the table and Shulk shout, "Well now you've bloody lost him!"

I chuckled to myself, as I made my way to the back of the room.

Hans had changed into a white button up shirt and black pants. Mist was sitting behind the counter with him. They were having a conversation that I didn't terribly mind interrupting.

"Hello," I said, "I need enough food and drinks to satisfy about eight people."

"Alright," Hans replied, "How do I know you're all old enough to drink? I can't serve anyone under seventeen."

"How are you old enough to serve then?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm much older than I look, Isaac. Much older."

My eyes locked with his and he laughed at my confused expression. "Just kidding," he said, "I can serve people older than seventeen. There's no rules here! Well, there's a few, but not TOO many."

That didn't really clear anything up.

Hans mixed a few things around then disappeared into the back room.

Mist was smiling faintly.

"What did he mean?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Don't listen to him. I don't understand half of what he says so it probably doesn't matter. Right?"

"But how old is he?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask, it wasn't important."

"Not important?!"

The door opened again and Hans poked his head out. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

I nodded stiffly.

He shot a wink at Mist. "Your order's up in a minute." he told me, then shut the door.

We were both too embarrassed to speak, so we kept silent, waiting for Hans.

Eventually he came back with two huge trays and set them down on the counter. As he came out, Mist got up and left.

I reached for the trays, but Hans pulled the, back slightly and held out his hand. "That'll be thirty credits," he said.

"What? Credits? I don't have any credits."

The boy put his face in his hands. "Ike, we talked about this. Just yesterday we all gathered in the main room to talk about mansion credits. You each get fifty credits at the beginning of every week."

I began digging through my pockets, flustered. Credits? Where were my credits? Had I left them in my room? What would the boys say when they discovered I'd made them wait so long for nothing?

A small white hand slid a card across the counter. "I'll pay for it."

I looked down into a pair of bright blue eyes. "Oh, hello Zelda."

"Hello yourself."

Hans reached for her card.

"No no. I'll pay for it." I said, digging faster through my pockets. I must've had that damn card somewhere. Why were they so small?

Zelda shook her head. "Just do it, Hans," she said.

With a smirk, Hans swiped her card as I scowled in anger. "I said I'd pay for it." I said.

"You were taking too long," she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "Besides, I can just bribe a few credits from your friends over here." She grabbed one of the trays and started off towards my table.

I quickly grabbed the other and followed. "So, you ladies finished your shopping?"

"I did, but I'm pretty sure the others are still out there."

"Did you actually go...out?"

"No. Hans had it all set up. We went into the recreational room and it sent us wherever we wanted. It some incredible magic."

We arrived at the game table and set down the trays. As I sat down, Shulk clapped me on the back. "Good on you, mate. You've brought a girl too!"

"Hey," said Link, "Watch yourself."

"Uh oh," said a man I didn't know, "Some drama cropping up here. Ike's stolen Link's girl."

"I'm not taking anyone's girl," I replied, moving my figurine across the board, "First move of the game. Who's on who's team?"

**One week later...**

I stared blankly at the main doors of the mansion.

What was it Soren was saying about them? Had I interrupted him?

I reached out my hand.

If what Hans had said was true, that we could leave whenever we wanted, the doors should open for me.

My hand touched the smooth metal.

"Hello?"

I jumped at the voice, dropping my hand to my side.

I didn't know the man who was speaking to me. He had dark blue hair, soft features, cerulean blue eyes, and a gold band across his forehead.

"I frightened me," I said.

"I noticed. My apologies. I was only wondering what you were doing by the front doors. Are you leaving?" He swept his hair out of his eyes.

"Erm...ah, no. I'm not leaving. Sorry, who are you?" I asked.

He stuck out one hand and put the other over his heart. "I am Marth." he said.

"Ike." I replied, shaking his hand.

Marth gestured with his hands as he spoke, almost like Hans, but with much more grace than our strange host.

"How are you this fine day?" he asked, as we started down the hall.

"I'm doing well. Just been wandering mostly. And yourself?"

He looked around, nervously. "To be quite honest, Ike, I'm hiding."

"Hiding from who?"

He looked around again. "Are you acquainted with Lucina?" he asked.

"No. I'm unfamiliar with most of the women here."

"Well I tried to be 'familiar' with a few of them and suddenly she thinks I'm some great ancestor of hers. She called me the Hero-King. While I am honored by such a title, it's clearly not mine. I'm only a prince after all. I tried to tell her it was a mistake, that she had the wrong man, but then she wanted to get her father to talk things over."

He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. "Her father is Chrom!" he exclaimed, "The man can't be more than four or five years older than her. Besides that, I was a little afraid of talking to Chrom. So I..."

"Ran?" I guessed.

Marth sighed and nodded. "Yes, I fled."

"If I run into him, I'll explain it to him, okay?"

"Thank you."

We reached the staircase and Marth snapped his fingers. "Say. I left something in the foyer. See you at lunch." He lightly tapped my arm and headed back down the hall.

I started climbing the stairs. I didn't have a direct destination on my mind; I was still wandering.

A handful of kids rushed by, almost tripping me in the process. Just as I regained my balance, a large hunting dog dashed between my legs, chasing down the children. Hopefully just in a playful way.

But why was there a dog here? And children? How could any of them fight properly?

I hung my arms over the railing of the second floor.

When the girls had gone shopping the other day, some of them had picked up decorations for the mansion. The walls downstairs were colored and paintings were hung. The ceiling decoration was redone, now with pink flowers at random intervals.

A door across the landing squeaked open. I looked up. Hans quickly closed the unmarked door and grinned.

He skipped over to me and rested his arms on the rail. "Hey," he said, "You should check out the upstairs. Our spell casters here gave it a 'mage-er' upgrade."

I raised an eyebrow as he laughed at his own joke. "Yeah alright," I said.

I started up the spiral staircase and he was still laughing.

The walls around the stairs were solid glass, looking out into a vast forest and a big blue sky with a radiant sun at its peak.

Soren was probably in the library, but I didn't much feel like striking up a conversation with him. I was in too good of a mood to talk to Soren.

I turned left and threw open the training room doors. I had never seen this room before.

There was a raised platform in the center of the room and spell books were scattered in great mounds around the room.

Much to my surprise, Soren and Daraen's sister were dueling on the platform. It was a wonderful spectacle, between two wonderful mages. The whole room was the center of a fiery hurricane. Daraen's sister was casting fire and Soren was using wind, like he normally did.

I was always fascinated by magic. I was terrible at using it, but it was interesting to watch. The problem was, how on earth did they decide who wins?

I slowly crept around the stage so that I would not disturb their battle.

In the back of the room, there were stationary training robots. Three people were in the back: Daraen, Mist, and one person I did not know. Daraen was sitting to one side, conducting a miniature firework show, Mist was intently reading a spell book, and the stranger was throwing knives at a robot.

Mist noticed me and waved. I walked over to her. "Hey," I said, sitting down. "Hi."

A loud 'Huah!' echoed through the room. The stranger, who was dressed almost like a ninja, became aware of how loud he (or she?) was. They looked around the room, their reddish-brown eyes briefly catching mine, then continued their knife throwing.

"Who is this?" I asked.

Mist leaned closer to me. "Her name is Sheik," she replied.

I spotted a long blonde braid coming from the back of her head mask.

"She's a little rough and tough, so I wouldn't suggest trying to talk to her. If you say anything to her, she'll snap right back at you. Especially if you're a guy."

"I can't really help that. But why especially?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've seen her a few times over the week, though, and men seem to be an issue with her."

Another 'Huah!' sounded through the room.

The wind and heat in the room died down.

"That's Daraen's sister, Robin," Mist said, pointing to the girl that Soren was shaking hands with, "She's pretty nice. She's married to Chrom."

The two mages climbed down and walked their separate ways, Robin towards the exit and Soren towards me. "Hello," he said.

"Hello," I replied, "How is everyone coping?"

Soren shrugged indifferently. "I suppose it's alright here. The Ylisseans have proven to be quite formidable opponents in magic."

Mist held up her book. "Well, I figured since I'm already fairly good at healing magic, and I AM here to fight, why not learn some fighting magic? After all, if all I know is healing magic, I'll be useless on the battlefield."

"That's a wonderful idea, Mist!" I said.

"Robin taught me a little bit before she went to duel with Soren."

"Who won?" I asked Soren.

"Neither of us," he answered, "She eventually became tired, forfeited the match, and asked for a rematch tomorrow."

"I thought Hans said we weren't allowed to duel each other yet?"

"Hans isn't here to inflict rules, now is he?"

I chuckled, looking around the room.

Despite our crazy host, a couple of rude people, and our strange housing, I could really start to like this place.


	9. Good times

**A/N: Okay everyone. Sorry it took me so long, but here it is. The chapter you've all been waiting so patiently for. Thank you guys for not unfollowing me for being the lazy person in creation. Because I am. Sorry. Bye now.**

Chapter 9

Daraen's POV

It was crowded at my table. I should've moved, but I was amongst friends...sort of. Pit was very animatedly recounting to the group how he saved the world from Hades, lord of the Underworld. I was only half listening because I hadn't slept well the past few nights.

The dining room had been completely remodeled in our absence. The plain white walls now had a silvery sheen over them; the small windows were gone and replaced with one huge window at the head of the room. Round metal lights hung from the ceiling in clusters.

I had gotten breakfast, but after only eating a few bites the table became so crowded I couldn't reach my plate anymore. I looked around the room, boredly. There were a lot of strange people here. There were several half-animal type creature like I had never seen before, a little pink ball shaped creature, and two people who appeared to be walking, talking, clothes wearing animals. Not to mention Pit and his twin, who each had a large pair of wings on their backs. Not that I was judging them; I'm sure that everyone here was strange in their own way. I absent-mindedly rubbed the back of my hand.

Chrom was snoozing in the chair next to me. I nudged him. "You alright?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just fine, thank you Daraen," he replied, "I just didn't sleep well last night. I've been thinking of asking Hans for a room switch."

"Why? Do you not like your roommates?"

The prince scratched the back of his head. "No. It's not that. My roommates are just fine. I just... I find it difficult to be so far away from Robin. Are we not allowed to share a room? I mean, does the rule apply to married couples as well?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but Hans would probably be fairly agreeable."

"Speaking of which," he said, nodding towards the window. The previously spoken of boy was rocking back and forth on his heels, gazing out the ten foot window into the forest below. He checked his watch and skipped over to our table. He stood between me and Chrom. "Hello there," he said, cheerfully, "Erm...excuse me."

I shifted my chair to the side, but I couldn't go far enough for Hans to reach the table.

"Excuse me everyone," he said loudly, "Hello?!"

No one turned.

Hans sighed in frustration. "I've got to get through here, people. Now move it." He turned to me. "Sorry about this." He put his foot on my leg and lifted himself into the air.

"Ouch!"

He planted his other foot on the back of another chair and picked his way towards the table. Shouts of indignation and pain rose up amongst the people at our table. Hans continued on his precarious but merry way until he stepped lightly down on the table. The entire feat reminded me of a cat.

"Aw, come on!" someone shouted as Hans stepped in his plate of food.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make!" he shouted.

The room finally quieted down.

"Thank you. We are nearing the end of our relaxation month. It's been a good one, but we only have one week left."

"Bull!" yelled one of the men at the table, "You told us two months, not one."

A look of distaste crossed our host's face. "You misunderstood me. We had two months before the brawls started, but only the first month is for relaxing. The second month, is preparation month. In other words, hard core training time. That's how the system works, people. First month, for getting used to the place, having fun. But second month is when we get ready to do what you came here for. Brawl. A few of you might be out of shape from the first month. There will be wake up schedules, eating schedules, and you will train every hour of the day, whichever hours I chose for you. I don't want to stress you out yet, so I'm not announcing those. What I AM announcing is today's activity."

I looked over at Chrom and we both shrugged. We worked in an army, training was what we were built for.

A smirk slowly drew across Hans's face. "Actually, I'm not going to say what we're doing. That's for you to find out. Once you are done eating, head up to your rooms. You should each find a bag with your name on it laying on your assigned beds. Open these bags, put on or take whatever's inside, then meet me in the recreational room. Okay? Alright." He clapped his hands excitedly, but before he could leap away, I waved him over to me. "Hans?"

"Yes Daraen?" He hopped down from the table and I stood up.

"I have a few questions before you go," I said, "First of all... have you gotten taller?"

The skinny little boy that once barely reached my shoulder had visibly grown a few inches. He looked himself up and down then shrugged. "I suppose so. Anything else?"

"Yes. You mentioned that a few people hadn't come in yet, such as Tip's roommate and here are a couple empty rooms along the hall. Do you know when those people are coming in?"

"Of course I know. They're coming at the end of next month. Unfortunately they had to skip out on the fun and they're well enough trained to be able to skip all that. As soon as the brawls start, they'll be here." He was starting to look anxious.

"Well, I'm sure you have work to do, so I'll let you run off," I said, "Just one more question?"

He beamed, bouncing on his heels. "Certainly. What is it?"

"Someone hinted to me that you had told them, you weren't the 'boss'. Nor were you the original owner of this place."

The grin slid off his face very quickly and extreme discomfort replaced it. "Erm... I'm not sure who told you that, but..."

"Is it true?" I asked.

He sighed exasperatedly and turned as if to walk away. "Look," he said, "I've got stuff to do right now. I can't really talk. Bye."

I grabbed his arm so he couldn't walk away. "Wait. I just want to know. Who IS the boss?" I asked.

His eyes met mine. "A guy you really don't not want to meet," he replied, sternly.

"Why? Is he unpleasant?"

Hans laughed. "Ha! Unpleasant is an understatement. Look, all you need to know is that I own this building. That's all there is to it."

"But why would your unpleasant boss leave you to run a company? You're just a kid. Right?"

He laughed again. "That's right Daraen. I AM just a kid. But kids can do lots of things if they set their minds to the task." He tapped the side of his nose, then ran to the exit.

I sighed and shook my head. I would never understand that kid.

Pit ran to my side and looped his arm through mine. Speaking of kids I would never understand. "Hey," he said, "We're roommates, remember? Let's go get those bags, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

**...**

Everyone gathered in the training room had a large black duffel bag slung over their shoulder.

I slowly approached the door to the recreational room. Hans was nowhere to be seen. The door swung open at my touch.

Our host, who had opened it for me, was wearing black swim trucks, sunglasses, and a towel around his neck.

"Hello Daraen," he said, tipping up his sunglasses. He looked around at everyone and their duffle bags. "Well? What's everyone standing around for? It's swim time! Come on, in, in, in!"

We hesitantly stumbled forward; I was the first through the door. I shook Hans's hand as I walked by. He looked vaguely surprised, but offered me a smile and a friendly nod.

I had never been in the recreational room before, but several people had tried to describe to me what it was like to walk through that room. None of them even come close.

It was like a whole new world. The narrow, steel doorway opened dramatically into the great blue sky. Palm trees shaded the entrance to the hidden world. A few yards away, the ocean crashed into rich golden sand. There was a bar and a large stone structure just to our lefts.

"Welcome everyone!" said Hans, who had somehow reappeared at the snack bar, "I hope you all enjoy. This entire landscape came from this little silver noggin." He tapped the side of his head. "The building over here is to change into your bathing suits. Left is women's, right is men's. I think…" He chuckled nervously. "I'm sure you'll figure it all out. I can assure you there are no sharks in the water, for your safety. Your duffle bags should contain your swimsuits so just head up to the building and get changed. Come to me with all complaints, suggestions, or comments. Have a great time everyone! Beach day has officially started."

I quickly slipped off my boots to avoid getting sand in them as everyone rushed past me. Since the sun was already beating down on me, I also removed my heavy cloak. It felt nice. The breeze rippled through my hair.

I looked back at the entrance, but it was gone. Oh well. I didn't mind so much as I normally would have. Things may have been strange here, but not in the least bit sinister.

I hefted my bag a little higher on my shoulder and started off towards the stone building.

Hans winked at me as I passed, but I did not return it.

Everyone else had already gone inside, many had even come out by now, fully dressed in their swimming attire.

Which side was guys' again? The two different doors were unmarked, but I was fairly certain that Hans had said right was the guy's side.  
It was stranger on the inside. Metal bins lined the left and back walls and several doors were on the right. Benches sat in the middle of the room, one of which was occupied. Link had stripped down to his undershirt and pants and was currently dumping sand out of his boots. "Hello there," he said, without looking up.

"Hi," I replied, "I'm pretty sure it is, but just to be certain, this is the men's side, correct?"

"As far as I know."

I shrugged. It wasn't like we'd both get it wrong. I set my cloak and boots down on a bench and opened one of the doors to get changed in.

Unfortunately for us both, it was occupied. A girl only in her undergarments stood with her back to me. Her long blonde hair fell down her back, half covering bright red runes that were almost like tattoos. I didn't recognize her.

The door squeaked slightly as I closed it and she spun around. Her scream made me freeze. She threw a hand over her face, but I had already seen runes across her jawline, identical to the ones on her back.

I stood rooted to the spot. "Miss. I am so sorry," I stuttered.

"GET OUT!" she yelled, throwing a towel at me.

I slammed the door shut and heard her lock it.

"Or…" Link continued, "We could both be wrong and be in big trouble now."

I bobbed my head up and down, unable to form words in my flustered state. My face was a deep red.

"We should go before Hans catches us and gets the wrong idea," he said.

I nodded again, then snatched up my things and hurried out the door.

**…**

I didn't highly appreciate the red eyes sewn into my swim trucks. They weren't harming anything and I was sure they didn't mean anything, but they did upset me.

I sat at the edge of the water, letting the waves wash over my feet.

The recreational room truly was the most beautiful magic I had ever seen.

Soft footsteps scattered sand just behind me. I stood up.

It was Sheik. She had not changed into her swimsuit, but had remained in her blue and white clothes with the mask still wrapped around her face. When she saw me, she quickened her pace, but I jumped next to her and started walking.

"Hello Sheik," I said in a friendly tone.

She didn't answer, but continued pacing along the shoreline.

"Erm…. Hello? Is something the matter? I didn't mean to upset you."

"Nothing's the matter and you haven't offended me," she replied in her gruff tone.

"What's wrong then? Normally you're just so….."

She spun around. "So, what?"

I admired her slim figure and red eyes for a moment. She was a lovely girl, with a horrible temper. It would do me well to change the subject. "Never mind. Why haven't you changed into your swimsuit yet?" I asked.

She scowled. "Well, I was going to until someone walked in on me when I was half naked."

Realization dawned on me, but she continued talking.

"I thought, after an embarrassment like that, I'd rather not walk around in an 'outfit' that was barely more than a set of underwear."

I stumbled over my words.

"I don't need your apologizes," she snapped, "But what you saw in there, stays between the two of us, or I'll throw more than a towel at your head."

I lowered my voice. "Do you mean the markings? What do those mean? Are they a different language or something?"

She scowled again and stamped her foot. "You don't get it." She stomped away.

"Wait," I called, "Please Sheik! I'm sorry!" I started after her, but someone grabbed my arm.

Link was wearing a pair of bright green swim trucks with little yellow triangles. "Don't," he said.

"I was just trying to apologize to her."

"I get what you were trying to do. I'm just telling you, don't. I know how she gets. When she's upset, no one can touch her, no one can speak to her. Especially not any guys."

"I suppose you're an exception to that rule?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes. It's just because I'm her friend. But she does get mad at me, a lot."

"Not to be rude or anything, but how do you even become her friend?" I sighed.

Link thought about it. "Save Princess Zelda, play a musical instrument with her, defeat an evil king," he replied, counting off on his fingers.  
"That's a very specific list."

"That's what I had to do anyway. It may differ from person to person."

We stood by the water's edge, under the shade of a palm tree, in an awkward silence.

Link looked over the bar and caught sight of Ike and Zelda chatting. "Hey, I'd love to stay and talk," he said, "But I've gotta go. Talk to you later."

I nodded.

I could see Chrom standing a few yards away and he looked furious. I hurried over to him.

"Hello Daraen," he growled.

"Hello Chrom," I replied, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Our little friend thinks he's hilarious." He jabbed a finger at Hans.

"He certainly does," I agreed, "But what's really the problem?"

He scowled and pointed to the rear of his bathing suit. A bright blue Mark of Exalt shone clearly in a very awkward spot.

I couldn't bite back a laugh. "He does have an interesting sense of humor," I said, "Look what he's done to mine." I pointed out the red eyes and Chrom shook his head, then looked back at Hans.

"He's just so strange. You can never know what's going on in that mad brain of his."

"Yes. He is a little strange." We both peered over at the silver headed boy.

"I don't understand him," said Chrom, "He's worse than Henry. He's like a mixture between a puppy and a drill sergeant."

"I agree. Although I'm not entirely sure how that's possible."

A hand clamped down on my shoulder and another on Chrom's. "Hello boys," said Robin.

"Hello Robin," we replied in unison.

"Who are you spying on?" When she saw Hans she laughed. "Trust me, you're never gonna figure him out."

I smiled. Finally, it was just the three of us. We hadn't been together for a long time. It wouldn't last for long, but it was nice to be alone with the only two people who know who I really was.

"Want to go for a swim?" Robin asked.

Chrom nodded. "Yes. Let's go." He took her arm and started towards the water. They stopped after a few steps and Chrom turned back to me. "Daraen, aren't you coming?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm going to stay in the sand for a bit longer. You two have fun."

The prince shrugged. "Alright then. Don't get into trouble."

I shook my head again and chuckled as they walked back towards the water.

A large group had accumulated by the bar. Since I had nothing better to do, I headed over. Everybody was listening attentively to Hans, who appeared to be telling a story. I must have caught the punchline.

"So… In the end he did leave. But I gave him a beating before he did," Hans finished.

Everyone gathered there laughed. Hans laughed along with them and wiped his hands on a dish rag. He looked up at me and waved. "Hey Daraen. Need something? A cocktail?"

I shook my head. "No. I just came to sit. Actually I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Shoot," he replied, "But I've got to warn you. Team 'Let's Drown All the Pedestrians' has zeroed in on you."

I looked around, but didn't see what he meant. "Anyway, I just wanted to discuss the state of my- Ack!"

Several small hands grabbed my arms, legs, and waist. There was a snuffling sound in my ear and something warm went under my back. I could hear my captors giggling; I was being moved.

"Put me down!" I struggled, but the hands would not relent.

Hans was laughing behind me.

"Put me down!" I shouted again.

"Okay!"

The grip on me slipped away all at once and I fell. Ice cold water rushed over my body and in my mouth and nose when I yelled. I had a moment of drowning panic before my feet found solid ground.

I stood up and met eyes with several children. Nana and Popo, the twins, the little pink guy, Ness and Lucas, that dog that was always following them around, and Pit. Pit, who was laughing almost as hard as Hans.

I coughed and sputtered out saltwater.

"You should've seen your face!" he cackled.

I had had enough with immature roommates. Between Hans and Pit, I was bound to lose my mind any day now. I couldn't take it much longer.

I lifted my hand up and Pit rose with it, yelling in fear. I jerked my hand back and he soared, flailing, through the air and landed with a large splash.

The children laughed all the harder and I couldn't fight back a smile as Pit came flopping back on the sand a few minutes later. "Curse you," he choked.

I chuckled and he busted into laughter.

It was nice here and everything was as it should be. I had no enemies, no rough feelings, and plenty of friends to go around.

**A/N: Yay! I finally finished the chapter! I am so sorry about that. I was busy and sick the past two weeks. Anyway, as you'll notice, Sheik is very different. Especially her personality. I wonder why that is? It's becuase I'm the author of this fanfiction and I can do whatever the heck I want to. Just kidding. I'm nice. I promise. Sheik does have a very different backstory in this (especially since she's a different person than Zelda. That's a big difference. I forgot to mention that. Sorry.) I hope you all enjoyed! Bye now! 333 Please follow and review. I like reviews. Requests for POVs are still open.**


	10. Food fight gone wrong

**A/N: This was originally going to be one long chapter, but I did not finish it in time. So instead, I'm going to post the first half today and the second half next week. They will both be from the same POV. I hope you enjoy! 3**

Chapter 10

Link's POV

The dining room at lunch was abuzz. Today was the last day of the first month. Tonight, as Hans claimed, was the ball, but he hadn't  
mentioned it again, which lead a few people to believe it was actually going to happen.

"I'm just so worried," said one girl, whose name was Peach, "Hans is so young to be running this. And so forgetful. He mixed up girl's and boy's bathrooms on beach day, Mist got food poisoning and couldn't attend shopping day, and he got the wrong color paint for the main hall so it had to be redone. I could go on for days. What are we going to do with him?"

"Don't worry, Peach," said Marth, "They were simple mistakes. Hans may be forgetful, but he's organized enough to keep things on track."

I noticed Mario glare in Marth's direction as Peach smiled at him.

The prince and princess had been friends ever since the chandelier incident a few days ago. It was almost disastrous and, hilariously enough, magical. No wonder Mario was so upset.

**...**

I was coming down the stairs from the third floor when I witnessed a strange event. Hans had a ladder against one side of the railing and he was standing on said railing, holding a pair of hedge trimmers with one hand and the ladder with the other. He was leaning WAY over the  
edge, towards the chandelier.

"Hans, what are you doing?!" I shouted.

He jumped and leaned back. "Oh, hi Link." He gestured to the beautiful ceiling decoration. "I'm trying to cut down the chandelier."

"Why?!"

He looked me dead in the eye. "So that everyone will stop swinging from it."

I wasn't sure how to reply.

Hans busted out laughing. "I'm just kidding. I need it down for redecoration purposes. And Peach is down there to make sure it doesn't break when it falls."

On the first floor just below us, the princess was looking terribly anxious. She was standing next to some sort of special mat which I supposed was going to catch the chandelier. "Oh Hans," she said, "I just don't think this is a very good idea. What if you fall?"

My nerves were set back on edge as Hans leaned out again, saying, "Nonsense. I'm perfectly safe."

"I'll remember to have that engraved on your headstone," I sighed.

He either didn't hear me, or chose to ignore me.

I considered the situation as Hans went further and further, muttering, "Almost…..got it…so close…."

"What if you tied a rope around the top then pulled it closer?" I suggested.

Hans shook his head. "Nope. I tried that. I'm… too short."

"Oo!" said Peach, "I could do it. I'm probably tall enough." She quickly started up the staircase.

"Wait, no," I said, "I'll do it. I'm even taller. This sort of thing is a man's work."

She continued walking, stripping off her gloves and shoving them into my chest. "Don't worry yourself, Link. Redecorating is a women's job. If you're into that stereotyping stuff."

Hans leapt down from the railing and grabbed a coil of rope off the ground.

My suggestions of safety were ignored as they secured one side of the ladder against the railing and the other against the chandelier. Hans shoved the rope into my hands, then held the end of the ladder as Peach started climbing.

"Guys?" called a voice from below.

We all three peered over the edge at a very confused Marth. He pointed to the mat. "What is this for? And what in 's name are you doing?"

"Cutting down a chandelier," Hans replied, "Hold that mat in place will you?"

Marth's confused protests were also ignored.

Peach leaned out across the precariously placed ladder, snipping at the chain with the clippers that barely fit in her petite hands. She grunted in concentration, before the two sharp edges of the snips connected with the metal chain. "I got it!" Her cry of glee turned into a scream of fear when the ladder was dragged down and Peach fell.

Hans and I ran to the railing, but we both failed to catch her.

It was terrifying to watch her drop, knowing she would injure herself in some serious way.

The beautiful chandelier hit the mat, which stretched itself over the decoration, like it was swallowing it, and folded itself up into a suitcase  
shape.

Peach came just after it and fell straight into Marth's arms. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly.

The ladder crashed down next to them, but they did even flinch. Their eyes were locked.

**...**

Like I said, it was almost magical what happened to those two, but it had caused some clear animosity.

"Speaking of the little runt," said a gruff looking man, "have any of you seen him?" He was talking about Hans.

I shook my head. "Not since this morning. Try asking Pit or Daraen. They both share a room with him, they might know where he ran off to."

He grunted, then left the table as I eyed him cautiously. He was well over six feet tall with large muscles and a rough attitude. I wasn't sure how I felt about him; he seemed dangerous.

Pit plopped down in the chair next to me and I slowly realized a new predicament. Tip was on my right and Pit was on my left. I could almost feel the tension rising. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope the two of them could hold it together until after lunch.

Things remained calm for the first few minutes. Everyone continued eating and the talking had decreased.

The twin angels didn't seem to have any words for each other, until Tip decided that he needed the ketchup bottle that was on the far side of Pit. He leaned across us both, with a sarcastic, "Excuse me."

"Watch yourself!" I said, as his black wings batted against my face.

One of his hands 'accidentally' knocked Pit's plate off the table, into his lap, and the other snatched up the bottle.

Pit leapt to his feet. "That was really unnecessary!" He took a piece of sandwich from his lap and threw it at his twin's head.

"Argh!" The dark angel grabbed the ketchup bottle, but, unable to see correctly, poured the condiment all over my head.

I seized his shirt, reared back my fist, and socked him across the jaw.

Pit tackled me to the ground, shouting, "No one hits my friend!"

I couldn't see; the ketchup was running into my eyes and it burned. Fists were connecting with my chest.

People were yelling.

I grabbed one of the angel's arms and twisted it back. I swung a leg out to the side, then flipped Pit onto his back. He cried out in panic and tried to squirm away from my grasp. I locked one of my arms against his neck.

A pair of strong hands grabbed at me and pulled me off the angel boy.

I turned sharply, with the blood roaring in my ears, and punched Ike square in the nose. Instead of stumbling back, like Tip had, he held his ground and punched me right back. He was stronger than I had anticipated and I hit the ground.

The entire room was in an uproar. Food fights and fists fights were sending the place into chaos.

Ike pulled me back to my feet, but instead of hitting me again, like I expected by this point, he just walked away.

Pit spun me around and started shouting something I couldn't quite understand.

The doors to the dining hall slammed open, but the chaos did not stop. Only Pit and I turned to see who was standing in the doorway.

Never, in the month I had stayed here, did I see Hans look so angry. His eyes were practically flashing red. "EVERYONE STOP!" he bellowed.

There was dead silence in the room.

I looked like an idiot, arguing with a sauce covered angel, with ketchup and blood running down my face.

The silver haired boy stomped into the room, glaring at everyone he passed. Gone was the silly little boy, his clear eyes alive with seriousness rather than mischievousness and his step was hard and sound.

No one moved. No one breathed.

Hans stopped front of me and Pit slowly raised his hand to point at me.

"Put your finger down," Hans snapped, "There will be no pointed fingers in this room unless you point to yourself. I can understand if you're all getting antsy because the brawls are coming up soon and you want to beat someone up, but damn it I don't care!"

Pit stepped away from me and locked eyes with his shoes.

"This is my house and it is a house of respect. We are going to treat each other respectfully, we are going to speak respectfully, and we are going to fight respectfully. If any of you fail to grasp the concept of that, you don't belong here and the exit's just out the hall here." He looked around the room, but no one would hold his gaze.

When his eyes met mine I half-shrugged and he shook his head. "Clean this mess up" he told one of the serving bots, "Everyone should be having fun tonight and I don't want this on their minds." He turned on his heel and left the room.

A few bots came out of a back room with mops and rags.

A woman with long green hair left just behind Hans.

I considered following her, but a hand tapped my shoulder. Chrom, who I had become well acquainted with over the month, handed me a napkin.

"Thank you," I said, wiping the ketchup from my eyes.

"No problem. Are you alright? Ike seemed to have gotten you pretty good."

I gently touched my bruised jaw. "I'll be alright, I've taken worse beatings. Besides, Ike is one of my roommates. I can just beat him whenever he turns in tonight."

I noticed a girl standing next to Chrom.

He saw me stare at her. "Oh Link. Have you met my daughter Lucina?"

The girl gave Chrom a reproachful glance.

Lucina. Her name sounded familiar for sure. She was around my age with long blue-black hair and her father's sharp blue eyes. She wore a stern expression... and she was beautiful.

"Hello," she said, extending a hand, "I don't believe we've met. Lucina."

The fact that she was Chrom's daughter befuddled me, but not more than her eyes.

I shook her hand through my daze. "Link," I heard myself say.

How had we lived in the same house for a full month without meeting?

Chrom seemed to be speaking to me, but I was struggling to pay attention. "Oh...yes, yes," I said, vaguely.

Lucina put a hand on her father's shoulder, saying, "I'm going to shower. Goodbye father."

"I will see you later, Lucina."

As she passed me, she said, "Goodbye Link. I hope to see you again soon."

"Yes. Very soon," I replied.

A half smile flickered briefly across her face as she turned away from me.

My eyes followed her for a long while, until she disappeared through the doors and Chrom cleared his throat. He was waiting for an answer to a question I didn't even hear.

"What?" I asked.

He chuckled lightly. "I said I will see you at the ball tonight, yes?"

"Oh, yes. Absolutely. I will see you then."

He patted my shoulder, then returned to his table to finish lunch.

I was in desperate need of some clean clothes. As I exited the dining room and started towards the stairs, I saw that Hans and the woman with long green hair were standing in the middle of the left staircase, having a conversation.

I didn't mind, because I usually took the right stairs, but I was interested to see what they were saying.

"And again, I do apologize for the boys' behaviors earlier," the woman said.

"It's quite alright, Lady Palutena," said Hans, who was looking much more bright eyed and cheery, "It's isn't a huge mess and I did think that a fight was going to break out sooner or later. Those two always seem to be at each other's throats anyway."

"That's just it," said Palutena, "Normally there is a little coldness between them, but they can usually get along so well. They haven't fought like this since they first met."

"Hm. How strange. Oh hello Link," said Hans. He didn't really seem to care.

"Hello," I replied, "I'm just heading up to shower and change."

He nodded. "Alright. Do excuse me, Lady Palutena. I must return to my room. There is work to be done yet. Bye Link." He turned and jumped at the second floor railing, then scrambled over, like some crazy, tiny gymnast.

I noticed that he entered the unmarked door rather than Room 3, which he shared with Pit and Daraen.

I offered Palutena a short bow, since she seemed to be some kind of royalty, then continued up the stairs to my room.

Shulk was on the other side of the door. His smile quickly slid away when he saw my face. "Good grief! What's happened to you?"

A cut across my nose had started to bleed again. I wiped it away. "I'm okay," I said, "Honestly. I just got in a food fight."

My roommate scoffed. "Did the food do that to your face, or are you lying to me?"

"The fight did involve a few fists," I admitted.

"I can imagine."

I shook my head, still dazed, and headed into the bathroom that was connected to my room.

**…**

Feeling clean and refreshed, I tied a robe around myself and entered my room to find some fresh clothes.

Ike was sitting on his bed, holding a piece of paper. "Hello," he said.

"Hello." I was curious to see what he held; it looked almost familiar.

He held it out to me. "It's yours. I didn't mean to be nosey. It was just lying out."

I immediately recognized the image and snatched it from the mercenary's fingers. "I would appreciate it if you didn't go through my things," I growled.

"I told you, I wasn't. It was halfway under your bed, so I thought I'd save it from getting lost."  
I folded up the page and put it behind my back. "Don't look at my stuff," I said.

He sighed. "I'm sorry I've upset you. I thought it was just a picture. Isn't it?"

My heart was pounding angrily. How dare he?

Ike sighed again. "Did you draw it?"

"No."

He nodded. "It's a beautiful drawing. Why was it torn? Is that why you're so upset?"

My fingers tightened around the piece of paper.

"The person that's missing," Ike continued, "Is that why you're upset that I saw it?"

I looking away for a minute, then sighed. "Yes," I quietly answered. I took the paper from behind my back and unfolded it.

It was a drawing of me, Zelda, and Sheik. Zelda and I took up the right side of the page, holding hands and smiling away. On the left side was Sheik, dressed in normal clothes and without her mask. Someone had their arm around her middle and she was smiling brightly at them. Who was holding her and who she was smiling at was unknown to most viewers, as that part of the page had been torn.

I sighed heavily, memories flooding every part of my mind. It had been two years since the drawing was given to me, but it seemed like forever. That happy life was gone.

"Whose arm is that?" Ike asked.

I was getting tired of Ike's questions; I wished he'd be quiet, but I couldn't stop myself from answering, "The same man who drew this picture, although he was just a boy then."

"What was his name?"

My fingers curled back around the image. "I don't want to talk about him."

"I'm sorry. I only asked for his name-"

"It doesn't matter! It's over; he's gone!"

He winced as I threw the page forcefully onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," he said, "Is he dead?"

The question caught me off guard and my answer came tumbling out before I even knew what I was saying, "Yes."

He sighed, then slowly stood up. "Hans wants to meet the two of us in the ballroom."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Half the time I'm not even sure if what he's saying is real words."

"Alright. I'll be there in a minute," I said, as he slammed the door shut.

**A/N: Next half of this chapter should be out next week. See you all then! Requests for POVs are still open. 333**


	11. Lonely

Chapter 11

Link's POV

My footsteps echoed off the metal staircase. I couldn't imagine where everyone went; the mansion seemed abandoned.

Why Hans had wanted me and Ike in the ballroom was beyond me.

I could hear talking and laughing coming from the sitting room. It sounded like Zelda. Of course it was safe to assume that Zelda would be near the library.

I walked to the entrance and poked my head in. Two figures sat alone, reading out loud from their books.

Anger flared up in me when I recognized Ike's face, laughing as Zelda read her story. I wasn't sure why I was angry, it just wasn't right to see those two together.

I cleared my throat and Ike's head shot up.

"Hello Link," called Zelda, "Would you like to join us?"

I smiled, but it felt forced. "No, Ike and I have some things to do right now. Maybe later?"

Ike hopped to his feet and strode towards me. "Goodbye Zelda," he said.

We walked down the hall to the ballroom, Ike with a grin on his face and me glaring at the ground.

The mercenary knocked cheerfully on the door, but his expression dropped when he saw my face. "Listen Link," he said, "I'm sorry about the photo. I didn't mean to upset you. Can't we just be done with it?"

I scowled. "This isn't about the photo."

"Is it about me punching you this morning? I didn't-"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

I uncomfortably raised my eyes to his. He looked nervous. "Look," he said, "It isn't like that. With me and Zelda. I never meant to-"

The doors swung open. Chrom, who was on the other side, was looking a little desperate. "Thank goodness you're here," he sighed, "Our host has been driving me insane."

"What's he doing now?" I asked, entering the room.

"He's got the mind of a hyperactive woman when it comes to decorating."

The ballroom was huge. And empty. Folded up tables and chairs lined the back wall. A huge metal ball hung from the middle of the ceiling and a dusty bar stood to one side.

The man who was asking about Hans this morning was sitting in a back corner, carefully observing everyone in the room.

A young man that I did not know stood on a ladder in the center of the room, with Hans and Pit staring up at him.

"No, no!" Hans exclaimed, "Light blue on the inside, dark blue on the outside!"

The boy looked down at the paper streamers in his hands, confused. "Um….what?"

"It's simple, Red, it really is. Gosh I need some women in here. Snake, come over here! You'll know what I'm talking about."

The man in the back of the room reluctantly got up.

Pit was snickering to himself. He caught sight of me and hurried over.

"Ike, get over here!" called Hans.

Ike sighed and rolled his eyes, before walking towards the ladder.

Pit's gaze shifted around the room for a while, before it finally caught mine again. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I hit you," he said, "I've just been fighting with Pittoo a lot lately and I'm not sure why. When you hit him, I suddenly realized that he's basically my brother. I should be fighting with him, not against."

I held up a hand to silence him. "It's okay, Pit. I understand. Sometimes the ones we love the most, annoy the crap out of us, and when we finally realize that we love them anyway, we get a little overexcited."

He looked immensely relieved. "Thank you, Link. You always understand perfectly."

I gestured to the room. "Shall we?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yes. Decorating, then dancing."

…

"You look dashing," joked Shulk, as I checked myself in the mirror.

"Thank you," I replied, combing my hair, "You don't look too bad yourself."

I appeared to be the only one in room 1 that had a legit suit. Hans had left outfits for each of us on our beds. I had a forest green suit, Shulk had a white shirt and suspenders, and Ike had a black shirt and pants with a navy blue cape.

"I think we all look quite nice," I finished. I suddenly realized something. "Do any of us even have dates?"

"Well you have Zelda," said Shulk, "But I suppose that goes without saying. As for the two of us, no." He considered it. "There's a girl I'd like to invite, but I'm afraid she isn't here."

"Pity," I said, "I'd have loved to meet the girl that YOU'VE set your sights on."

He chuckled, almost nervously and scratched the back of his head.

The door to our room swung open and Hans's head stuck in. "Look lively lads. The ball starts in two minutes," he said cheerfully, then promptly exited.

We let out a collective sigh. "Shall we?" I asked, opening the door.

"We shall," replied Shulk, with a grin.

One by one, we left our room and entered the second floor balcony. Several people were already leaving their rooms and staring up the spiral staircases. I saw Chrom take Robin's arm, grinning away at her silver gown.

"You two loiter all you want," said Shulk, "I'm going to head up now before we get packed in."

Ike and I slowly walked toward the steps after our blonde roommate dashed away. I took in everyone's face around me. There was an odd mixture of people, but everyone was dressed very nicely. I had to agree with Chrom; Hans had the taste of an extremely particular woman. Which was a strange compliment, if even was one.

"Hello handsome," said a voice that I knew. Zelda looked especially beautiful tonight. She was wearing short blue dress with golden Triforces around her neck and at her ears. Her hair was curled and her eyes were shimmering.

I took her hands in mine and kissed them. "Hello Zelda," I replied.

Ike seemed to disappear, but I took no notice. Zelda and I began climbing up the metal stairs, with the crowd gently pushing us forward.

The doors to the ballroom were already open when I got there. The room was much different from when I left it that afternoon. The tables that we had set up along the left wall were filled with food and drink and chairs sat along back wall under the windows. The great chandelier from a few days ago hung from the center of the ceiling and multicolored lights sprang from the flowers. The entire room had been swept, mopped, dusted, and shined.

Zelda whispered to me that she was going to find her friends.

"Hello everybody!" shouted Hans over the sound system, followed by a loud screech.

I plugged my ears briefly.

"Sorry about that," he continued, "I just wanted to say, have fun!"

Music started blaring through the speakers around the room. No one was entirely sure what to do.

I walked over to Hans, who was behind the bar once more, as everyone filed in. He looked very nice. His hair was combed over into a wave shape and he wore a silver-blue suit that matched his eyes. His face was scrubbed and shiny and his teeth were sparkling white. "Good evening Link," he greeted, breathlessly, "How do you like it?" He gestured around the room, then looked at me hopefully.

"What? This?"

Rocking back and forth on his heels, he nodded.

"It's incredible," I shouted over the music, "Did you do this all yourself?"

His face broke into a relieved grin and he nodded faster. "The bots helped with the cleaning, but I did the rest, yeah."

"It's wonderful, Hans, it really is."

"Thank you," he said, with a wide grin, "Now go enjoy yourself. Get a dance with that girl of yours. She looks ravishing tonight."

I laughed, but felt my face grow hot. He was right, I needed to find Zelda. "I'll talk to you later, Hans," I said, patting his shoulder, "Bye."

"See ya."

I weaved through the crowd, searching for that navy blue dress. Multicolored outfits twirled around. People had finally started to dance.

I walked to the back of the room and found Sheik sitting all alone and still dressed in her normal clothes. She hadn't changed once since we arrived at the mansion.

"Hello," I greeted, sitting down next to her.

"Hey," she replied.

"You don't want to dance?"

She turned her cold eyes on me. "I am here to keep an eye on you and Zelda since you are unable to take care yourselves without me. I will not distract myself from that job, not even for one song."

I shrugged. "Okay. So where is she?"

Sheik straightened up a bit. "She wandered around a little, trying to find you. Eventually someone asked her to dance and she accepted. I've been watching them closely, but he doesn't seem to have any sinister intent, so I let them be."

I peered onto the dance floor where she pointed. Finally I saw her. She was dancing with a very familiar black and blue clad man. "Sheik, that's Ike. You know him."

"Hmph," was her only response.

I shook my head, but felt a pang in my chest. It was sad to know that I made Zelda look for me.

Footsteps were approaching us. Shulk held out his hand to Sheik. I held back a snicker as he asked, "May I have this dance?"

"Shove off," she said, with her eyes locked on Zelda.

Shulk looked confused. "All I did was ask for a dance," he said.

"Or better yet, shove it up your-"

"Alright alright!" he interrupted, "I've got the point."

When he walked away, I could see he was trying not to laugh.

Sheik didn't seem to want to talk anymore, so I headed towards Zelda and Ike. "Excuse me," I said, tapping Ike on the shoulder, "May I cut in?"

"Absolutely," answered Ike, who could not wipe the grin off of his face.

I finally took Zelda's hands in mine and we danced. No one else in the room wanted to dance or mingle anymore. The few seconds of fun had faded very quickly. Everyone had moved from the center to the outer edges. After a few seconds, Zelda and I were the only people on the dance floor. I didn't really mind; I was satisfied just to stare at her glowing face.

A few brave people slowly crept out to dance. Chrom and Robin spun around us.

Zelda was starting to look a little sad.

"Do you want to stop?" I asked.

Her head turned up. "Oh we don't have to. I was just feeling tired. Would you mind?"

"No, definitely not. Please, go sit."

"Okay," she said, "I'm sorry to make us stop. I'll come back for another." She walked away, towards Sheik, leaving me to stand on the dance floor alone.

I saw Shulk exit through a side door that I didn't notice before. I started walking to it as well.

Marth passed me, holding Peach's hand and leading her out to dance, and winked at me.

I went through the side door. It lead out onto a balcony. The moon was shining brightly over the dark forest and the stars twinkled happily. It reminded me of Hyrule.

"Hey," said Shulk.

"Hello. How are you?" I asked.

"Offended," he laughed, "Your friend's got quite the tongue on her."

I snickered and he suddenly realized his mistake. "That was worded wrong," he said, "But you know what I meant."

We laughed.

"You know, Ike mentioned that he found a photograph of yours," Shulk said in a low voice.

"That's true," I replied, not wanting to lose our cheery tune.

He unclipped his suspenders and laid them across the railing. "Finally. Those things were killing me." He looked at me quite seriously with his electric blue eyes. "You know you can tell me these sorts of things, right? You're my roommate and you're my friend. I want to be your friend, and friends tell each other these things."

"It's not that important of a thing to tell," I sighed.

"Then it can't be that important of a secret to keep."

I looked up at him and sighed again. He didn't appear impatient, or demanding, or angry; he was just curious and honest. I didn't know what to tell him.

"That…..is true," I said slowly.

It was an important secret, a terrible secret. But it wouldn't hurt, Shulk would never tell a soul. I took a deep breath...

The door slammed open.

Shulk and I dove to the side and hid.

A cursing Tip stomped onto the balcony, wringing out his black suit. Mist, Ike's sister, hurried out after him saying, "Well I'm sorry! Won't you let me help?"

"Third time you've spilt something on me in the past month. Am I going to let you help? No!"

She took out several napkins and started wiping down his shirt.

"I've got this," he growled, snatching the napkins from her. He continued squeezing the water from his clothes.

Mist took out more napkins and attempted to help again.

Tip made a snatch at the napkins, but the turquoise-dressed girl pulled them from his grasp. "Listen, I'm trying to help you," she said, "I've messed up a lot since we met. Won't you let me make it right? Or are you going to go on being stubborn?"

The dark angel hesitated.

"I just want to help," she repeated.

He dropped his hands to his sides with a, "Yeah, whatever."

She began to sop the water from his shirt. Tip quietly considered her for a moment. "At least you're sorry for screwing things up," he said.

"Well, to be fair, you've screwed up a lot as well."

"Hm. I suppose we did get off on the wrong foot."

Mist's face brightened and I saw a genuine smile spread across Tip's face. Just as quickly as it appeared, the smile was gone and the angel was scowling once more. "The wrong foot being the one you tripped over and ruined my dinner with."

A frown crossed the girl's face. "I would've thought it was when you grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me while yelling in my face." She straightened up and put the wet napkins on the railing. "I've made things up to you now, haven't I?"

He examined his mostly-dry shirt and shrugged. "I suppose so. I guess it's my turn now?"

Mist nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure what to do," he admitted.

"We could dance," she suggested.

Tip shook his head quickly. "I don't dance."

"I suppose I'll just have to ask Hans then," she said, sounding disappointed.

Tip didn't respond, so she left.

The dark angel sighed loudly and heavily. "Hans?! Every time, she goes to that...that little freak!" He stripped off his tie and threw it over the railing.

Shulk grunted and shifted positions, but thankfully he was unheard.

Tip kicked at the railing and shoved the wet napkins aside. He put his face in his hands and placed his elbows on the rail. "No one believes me..." He spun around and slammed the door shut behind him.

Shulk and I stumbled to our feet. "That was a bit cramped," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And awkward," I added. We stood still for a long time.

Shulk's face twitched. "I was going to come out and enjoy the night, but... I think I'm going to go in now."

"Yeah..." I agreed.

"Goodbye Link," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"See ya," I replied, long after he had shut the door.

It was starting to get warm, so I turned around and reentered the ballroom. The slow music had faded and the loud songs had begun. More people had crowded onto the dance floor to party. I could see Pit dressed all in white dancing with some red haired girl and Peach was now dancing with Zelda. Most everyone seemed to be getting into the swing of things, having fun and dancing away to the crazy music.

Sheik sit sat in the back corner and a handful of people sat at the bar. Hans was resting after serving up drinks.

I sat on the end stool, furthest from our host.

"Hello," he called to me, "Want a drink, Link?"

I shook my head.

He set down his glass and stared at the people. He was smiling, but I know something was missing. I knew something inside of him was sad, I just didn't know what was wrong. Maybe he needed a break.

Mist passed in front of him and his smile brightened. "Hello Mist," he said cheerfully, "Anything I can help you with?"

She walked behind the bar and rested her arms on the counter. "Will you dance with me?" she asked.

He looked behind himself, then pointed to his chest. "Who me? You want me to dance with you?" He held up his hands and shook his head. "Oh no, I couldn't. I can't dance, I'll only embarrass you."

"What a coincidence," she said, grabbing his hands, "I can't dance either." She dragged him from behind the counter, complaints trailing after them.

I sighed and peered around the room. Maybe I should've gotten a drink...

Considering leaving, I looked at the exit. I saw Lucina standing there, beckoning.

I pointed to myself and she nodded. She put a hand to her forehead.

I jumped up from my seat and headed towards her. "Hello," I shouted over the music.

"Hello," she replied. She, like Sheik, had not changed into a dress. "Let's go out," she said.

I nodded and opened the door for her. We exited together and I shut the doors with my back. Lucina sighed as the sound of the music was muffled.

"You're not a party person, are you?" I asked, leaning against the doors.

"No, not really. I'm mostly waiting for tomorrow."

"As am I."

An awkward silence started to stretch on.

"Is there any particular reason you wanted me out here?" I asked, nervously.

She nodded. "Yes. I mean, no. I didn't really want to stay and you didn't seem to want to either. So I figured, if we wanted to be alone why not...never mind."

I stepped forward a little too fast and I felt a tugging at my back. The buttons on my suit popped open and I stumbled forward. Lucina grabbed my hand to catch me, but I only dragged her down with me. My back hit the ground and Lucina landed on my chest.

"Are you alright? I'm terribly sorry." She struggled to stand.

The doors creaked open again and Chrom, who suddenly looked horribly disturbed, stared down at us.

"Father."

Lucina stood up, straightening her clothes.

I stood just behind her, then noticed that a few buttons of my shirt got opened when my jacket was stuck in the door. I buttoned them as quickly as I could, realizing why Chrom looked so upset. "Chrom," I began, "This was not at all what it looked like. I swear to you."

He silenced me with a furious glare.

"Father, he is telling the truth. He- he fell and I was...going to catch him, but... but-"

Chrom held up a hand to silence his daughter. Her face was red.

"Please Chrom." I was so flustered, I didn't even know what it say. "You must believe us."

"Sh!" he snapped, "Get out."

I looked around, confused. "Wha-"

"GO!" Chrom shouted.

I jumped and, putting my head down, ran into the ballroom.

Guilt did not drag down my heart and tears did not prickle at my eyes. It was just my luck to have something like that be so perfectly and horribly timed. It was just my luck to have a new friend think I was a terrible man. It was just my luck to have a friend hate me.

I could see Hans and Mist on the dance floor. Despite what he had claimed, he was an excellent dancer. He was teaching Mist how to do some sort of swing dance. After a few minutes, he bid her farewell and returned to the bar. "Hey man. You alright?" he asked me.

"Fine."

"You want a drink?" He held up an empty beer glass.

I shook my head.

Lucina and Chrom were reentering the ballroom. Neither of them would look at me and they immediately walked to the back of the room. My eyes followed Lucina for as long as they could, until she disappeared in the crowd.

I finally felt guilt. It wasn't right. I shouldn't leave Zelda and watch a foreign woman. This entire month had been a month of mistakes, but I would fix it. I would make things right again.

"On second thought," I said, tapping my hand on the counter, "I'll take that drink."

Hans smiled. "Alright. What'll it be?"

I couldn't think straight anymore, so what was the point in going small? "A double shot," I said, "And...largest glass you have."

The boy whistled. "Rough night?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Just do it."

A larger man, whom I had seen several times before, sat next to me. Someone had told me that his name was Snake. When he saw my glass, he whistled as well. "Damn," he said, "I'll have whatever he's having."

"Coming right up."

"Having similar problems?" I asked.

"Women," he scoffed, "Don't bother with the hot blonde one back there. She doesn't budge."

For a moment I thought he was talking about Sheik, but he pointed to a different blonde woman. "Yeah," I said, "Not so much women as much as their fathers though."

"Cheers to that, mate," Snake laughed, clinking his glass against mine.

I looked out on the dance floor once more and saw Ike dancing with Zelda again. I took a huge swig from my glass; I was going to need it to get through the rest of the night.

**A/N: Happy Easter everyone! I'm so sorry for my late update. I accidentally deleted half the chapter when I 'finished' it. But it's here now! I hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for any OOCness in the characters. Love you all! 333**


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